


Deserving of Acceptance

by Stoffelees



Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Mentions of Suicide, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Racism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2018-06-10 07:26:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 39,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6945547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stoffelees/pseuds/Stoffelees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Monsters are free. After hundreds of years underground they've returned to the surface. But they had enough trouble tolerating each other before, now they're the 'new kids on the block' of the surface world. Can these anger influenced Monsters find their place among humans?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Freak

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go, there's so many good stories out there and my brain wanted to add one more to the mix. Welcome to Underfell... Post-Pacifist! These dorks don't get enough credit and it's time they got their happy ending too right? So what does the world of humans have in store for these monsters in dire need of anger management classes? I expect to add an OC eventually, I have no idea if they'll develop any kind of relationship later. I'm just building the train track as I go, care to take a ride?
> 
> Updates will be sporadic. The ending is finalized, but the road there is a bit bumpy.  
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> **Your comments and critiques give me life!**
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> Feel free to follow my tumblr for info on updates and Undertale art reblogs:  
> <http://stoffelees.tumblr.com/>

What the hell was he doing here? What was his brother thinking sending him off on his own like this? It was dangerous and foolish! Sure he was nothing more than a simple errand boy now but this was ridiculous; to attend to this task alone?!

Looking down at the hastily scrawled list in his hand, Sans allowed a frustrated grumble to slip from behind his teeth. He rubbed the back of his head, the unique sound helping to quell the anxiety that had been building since the day began.

Steeling himself, he walked out from the alleyway he had been standing in and toward the door of the small shop. He had barely placed a hand on the door when he was briskly shoved aside. A low growl escaped his throat but held his figurative tongue as what appeared to be a tall male pushed past and headed in to search for his own items.

Once inside Sans found himself pausing to survey the shop and remind himself where most of the items required were. Having been here several times before it should be easy, but it had always been in the company of his brother. Papyrus would stand watch, glaring at anyone who dared allow their gaze to wander to either brother while Sans quickly gathered what was needed and paid. This was a new venture altogether.

Sweat already dotted his brow as he stepped further to face the task at hand. The shop was small enough; formerly what appeared to be a gas stations it was repurposed by a local entrepreneur to take advantage of the recent needs of the city's new residents. The windows had bars but minimal grime to obscure view. The floor and shelves seemed well-kept as if some pride had been taken in the upkeep of the otherwise cheaply renovated shop.

Lazily making his way to the second aisle, the few items he needed were within arm’s reach. He let his sight pass over the various products and felt his mouth curl into a sneer; how funny that things previously prized and repaired by his people were now so easily available. Electronics, various cords and cables, thin blankets, and books of random topics from cooking to fantasy stocked the shelves.

Feeling like he was being watched, Sans glanced up and saw the man who had shoved past him staring before speaking, “What are you looking at freak?”

Sans let out a guffaw before turning away, “could ask you the same thing.”

Within a second the collar of his red shirt was balled up in the man’s fist, eliciting a laugh from the shorter of the two while the man grew angry.

“Run that by me again demon?!”

“it takes one to know one fleshy. now you mind putting me down before i do something reckless?”

The man pulled Sans closer to his face. Shaggy hair hung down partly obscuring his eyes, but it was clear he was glaring daggers. His shirt and shorts looked like they were being held hostage and screamed for the refuge of a laundry mat. The ensemble seemed more by choice than necessity as the hodgepodge of tattoos along his arms and face didn’t have a touch of dirt upon them. And his odor was overwhelming. It was as if he had rolled in a bed of those dangling air fresheners before going out; was this how he warded off others?

“Listen freak, you can't hurt me and I ain't afraid of you. You're nothing more than a walking talking Halloween prop. You're so stupid looking you can't even whore yourself out to a damn science class.”

Sans continued laughing, a low rumble of a chuckle. The guy had a point, he was pretty awkward looking. The white lights in his eyes that served as pupils suddenly vanished before being replaced by a ring of fiery red and yellow in the left socket. A wisp of red appeared in his left palm and crept up his phalanges. Making a fist, the man gasped releasing his hold on the shirt and fell to his knees clutching his chest.

“let’s clear things up buddy, i don't give a shit who you think you are, but it's going to take more than a little name calling to scare me. in fact, i suggest you start making it a habit of fearing my kind, got it?”

Now bracing himself on his hands and knees, the stranger made a displeased noise before pointedly spitting at Sans' sneakers. “I'll never be scared of garbage like you!”

“That’s enough!”

The two of them ceased their posturing at the sound of a shout from behind the counter. As if coordinated, they looked up to see the shopkeeper approaching the squabbling pair.

Directing his attention to the one on the floor, “Mark, you come in here every other day and all you do is antagonize my paying customers. I am not some piece of your territory to patrol. Get out.” A stern look upon his face and a finger pointing to the exit gave an air of authority to the shopkeeper. He did not raise his voice, but the way he spoke he had no reason to.

The light in Sans' hand dissipated and the white pinpricks returned to his eyes as he watched the man get up. With a glower, the one now known to him as 'Mark' retreated.

“You should not encourage him. I do not take sides; I just run a simple business. Do not make me do that again.”

Sans' smile returned as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “no problem pal. but why do it in the first place?”

The shopkeeper ran his gaze up and down the patron before him, “I see you in here enough, I know your business is reliable.” Pausing to deliberate he added, “however, this is the first time I have seen you alone, where is your friend?”

Sans paused, hoping to give the shopkeeper as little information about his personal life as possible.. In fact the less anyone knew about him the better, “my bro is busy. figured I could take care of a few things.”

Giving a carefree shrug, he hoped the man didn’t see through the façade disguising his anxiety. He was a bit shaken up still but wasn’t going to let him know it. His left hand fidgeted in his jacket pocket, a leftover trait he had tried to rid himself of.

As if sensing the apprehension the shopkeeper smiled and extended a hand. “My name is Samir. You are always welcome in my shop so long as you remain civil here.”

Eye sockets narrowing, Sans contemplated the offered hand before extending his own to accept it. “the name's sans, sans the skeleton.”

\----------

He felt like walking for a bit after the exchange in the shop. He was used to humans slinging slurs at him, shit he usually expected it. But the shopkeeper, that was different. That one didn’t seem intimidated by him at all; maybe he was used to seeing the skeleton brothers.

Bag slung over his shoulder, Sans made his way back. Not back home, he wasn’t sure if he could ever call it home, but it was adequate shelter. It was a roof and some walls, and presently it was all they had. It was the only above ground community of Monsters. Oh sure, they were free now, but were they?

The media had been quick to the scene when they emerged from the Underground, practically swarming the first few individuals. King Asgore Dremurr had been quick to demand their attention and request an audience with the humans’ ruler. The Governor was soon there, likely fearful of allowing the monsters into the city and instead opting to meet on Mt. Ebott. Asgore was firm in demanding a place for his people, but the delegations were rather disappointing.

They were given an old neighborhood that had been recently condemned, mainly consisting of one or two-storied town houses. Their condition was deplorable. It seems humans waste no time taking what they can for themselves and as such the houses had been rendered to little more than shells. No electricity, no running water. Humanity hadn’t changed much it seems since the war those hundreds of years ago; Sans let out a low chuckle at the thought.

Allowing his vision to wander as he walked, he took in the sight of the run-down city around him. Buildings were shoved side by side, adorned with strange brightly colored markings. Some were obviously sets of letters, likely some sort of identifier of the individual who left them there. Were humans really so desperate to leave their mark on the world? It must have something to do with how short their lives are, he mused. Monsters generally didn’t live all that much longer, but only a few generations had passed after the barrier went up while it seems a dozen human generations had come and gone.

He lifted his head out of his thoughts and scoffed as he passed through the familiar gate. The humans had been quick to surround the neighborhood with a basic chain link fence, and had the nerve to refer to it as a ‘gated community.’ The only entrance was manned 24 hours a day by a less than enthused human who spent most of his time reading or playing on his phone rather than actually attending to his job. The government had even enacted a curfew on the small community, ‘for the safety of monsters’ they claimed. This was the only time the guard at the gate got any entertainment, threatening any who dared violate the standards set.

At least he wasn’t still stuck underground like the rest of those poor saps. Only a select number of monsters were allowed on the surface for now. Those chosen to inhabit this new place were those of importance: any close to the king, the royal guard, the royal scientist of course, and a few merchants to get the community started. And so here he was, dragged into this mess because his brother, Papyrus, was second in command in the royal guard.

Huffing out of frustration, the bag found itself tossed on the stoop Sans had made a habit of lazing upon. No reason to go inside, so it was time to park it here and just watch. He had quite a bit of experience of simply sitting and watching, he had been a sentry before after all. Sure it had been at the demand of his brother, ‘DO SOMETHING USEFUL WITH YOURSELF, THIS WORLD DOESN’T TOLERATE MONSTERS WHO CAN’T FIND THEIR PLACE!’ Well, this is as good a place as any now. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he let his head fall back with a loud ‘thunk’ against the front door.

What was he suppose to do now? Not right now this very moment per se, but with himself in this new world. It’s difficult to learn to live again after simply existing for so long.

Slowly his eye sockets drooped, his mind full of what life used to be like. Before the surface, before he was a sentry, before the accident… The thrumming of his soul slowed and an insouciant sleep took over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried so hard to not use the words 'human' or 'monster' in the first part of this chapter. Also, I'm super nervous about sharing this story but I'm also super excited! This is the first FanFic I've written in over 10 years, so I can only improve from here. Any constructive criticism is welcome.


	2. Brothers

Sans awoke to the sound of rustling. Lids still heavy he opted to keep his sockets closed and try to fall back to sleep. His brother would kick him off the stoop when he got home, no reason to stay awake until then.

The rustling happened again and he realized it wasn’t the trees or a bush, it was plastic. Eye sockets flying open, he jerked his head to the side in time to see a small bunny monster in a striped shirt whip its head out of the bag. Their pupils expanded before fear took over and it turned tail and ran, but not before snagging a prize for itself.

“hey! get back here you little shit! didn’t your parents teach you not to take things from monsters stronger than you?!”

Giving a frustrated groan he checked to see what the kid had gotten - batteries of course, the one thing Papyrus had said not to forget. He recognized the white-furred monster child as belonging to the former innkeeper of Snowdin, his hometown Underground. She now aided her sister in running a small shop since her former business was less useful here on the surface.

The rabbit’s shop Underground had always specialized in refurbished items, especially since much of what they had was human garbage collected from the river. But sometimes items one monster wants belongs to another. That was one of her specialties - getting things requested of her. Now that they were above ground, few human vendors were willing to sell bulk of anything to monster merchants, so they still found themselves turning to old habits such as sifting through garbage or stealing from each other. Thank the stars they could still rely on food shipments from the Underground or they probably would have starved by now with the way humans withheld aide.

He cursed himself for not tossing the bag inside before napping. No one would dare break in and steal from his brother. But Sans? He kept such a low-key profile everyone knew he was just a pushover. Aside from the obvious fact that his LV was pitifully low, his HP was only one, giving him good reason to avoid the violent interest of other monsters.

His short stature and rounded features were key in helping him appear non-threatening. Sure he may not seem that short, but being at a meter and a half compared to the full two meters of his brother made him appear rather small. He had always been the big boned one anyway.

Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his black jacket, he gave a huff and stood up. Life hadn’t always been like this. His left hand found itself leaving the comfort of his pocket to brush against his single gold tooth, razor sharp like the rest of his maw. He allowed himself to lament momentarily. He had learned what the reward for weakness was, and he didn’t care to remind himself.

Renewed anger and frustration swirled in his chest. Fishing for his keys, he fought with the lock before it yielded to him before scooping up the shopping bag, only to cast it aside once he crossed the threshold. Admittedly it was his brother who had earned this home, Sans had very little if anything to do with that. Papyrus probably only kept him around at this point because of some familial obligation.

A familiar red glow licked the left side of his skull. He was letting his emotions get the best of him again and willed himself to force the magic back down. Closing his eye sockets, he waited until the buzzing of his soul returned to its standard hum before opening them again; his white pupils returning. They swept across the darkened room and settled on the ratty green couch. Many of the monsters had opted to start fresh when they were moved to the surface, but Sans had insisted on bringing the stupid couch. Papyrus hated the couch and only allowed the offensive piece of furniture to join them in their move so long as it was the only large item to join them. It wasn’t, but Sans wasn’t about to let Papyrus in on what else he had snuck to the surface.

Now for the most difficult question of the day: to nap on the couch or in his room? If he slept on the couch he would have little to no time to react when Papyrus came home, but if by chance he heard his brother beforehand he could play it off. Being caught in his room would offer no such opportunity as it would be clear the only thing he was doing was sleeping. Even then he had to take his brother’s mood into account. In his better moods, there would probably only be door slamming. In his worse moods these days, Sans could expect to get smacked around. And when Papyrus was really angry, such as when duties were neglected, well, that was when thrashings were doled out. Like the time Sans forgot… awe shit.

A bony palm rose to greet his forehead with a loud clack. The batteries. He couldn’t admit to Papyrus that some kid stole them from him, but that would mean lying and saying he forgot them. Sans pulled his phone out to check the time, it informed him he had maybe twenty minutes until Papyrus barged through the door. Not enough time to replace the lost package of batteries. Well, he’d just have to hope Papyrus’ meeting with Undyne went better planned; otherwise he’d be nursing some injuries.

\----------

The sound of heavy boots on pavement was all the warning any monster needed to flee. The window of opportunity to hide was small, but most residents habitually kept an eye on an escape route at all times. Long strides quickly carried him toward his destination. A brief detour through the more run-down part of the neighborhood was called for though, as his presence and authority should be reestablished on a frequent basis. A few well placed glares and he was satisfied with this patrol.

A sharp about-face and it was time for the imposing skeleton to return to his living quarters. It had been another long day of discussions and debates with little to no progress. He itched with pent up energy that was begging to be spent. He would have to spar sometime in the coming days or he was going to dust someone out of frustration.

The buildings coming into view were in better shape and housed monsters he would describe as of a higher class. Of course, he deserved nothing less; he was The Great and Terrible Papyrus after all. He had worked hard for everything he had; he alone had earned all this.

He approached the two-storied brick abode, it was narrow but it was enough. Conjoined with half a dozen other duplicates of itself, there was nothing distinctive about it. Standing out made you a target, and the last thing he needed was for his property to catch someone’s eye while he was away. There were rows upon rows of buildings like these, almost like houses themselves save for the lack of space between each one on a row.

Sans had left the door open again. Groaning, Papyrus pulled the screen door to allow himself entry. Looking down he saw a discarded bag had been holding the front door against the wall. He snatched it up and inspected the contents, of course Sans forgot. Could that lazy ingrate do nothing properly?!

Making a beeline for the stairs he paused on the first step. He was well attuned to his surroundings at all times and could feel someone watching him. Slowly turning he spotted the offender on the couch.

“hey boss.”

There was clearly sweat already beading on his brother’s skull. Even with the ever-present grin plastered on his face a hint of apprehension shone through. His posture was atrocious as he slouched on the couch cushion and both hands were firmly buried in his pockets.

“so i…” he tried to begin.

“NOT A WORD SANS.” Papyrus retracted himself from his previous direction to face his brother. He had enough of this in the Underground, he would not tolerate Sans returning to his lazy habits here on the surface. “I ASKED FOR ONE SIMPLE TASK TO BE COMPLETED AND EVEN THEN YOU FIND A WAY TO HALF-ASS IT.”

The shorter skeleton visibly sunk in on himself and the white lights of his pupils shrank to pinpricks. Sans knew he deserved this, Papyrus could see that.

“YOU WILL NOT SULLY THE NAME I HAVE EARNED FOR MYSELF, AND I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO CONTINUE LEECHING OFF MY SUCCESS. FIND A USEFUL PLACE FOR YOURSELF HERE OR SO HELP ME BY ASGORE’S BEARD I WILL ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM MYSELF!” Punctuating his final statement, Papyrus thrust his gloved hand to point at Sans.

They had done this song and dance before; Papyrus would chastise Sans and Sans would beg forgiveness from Papyrus. But as the taller skeleton continued to stare down the lump on the couch he noticed the edge of Sans’ grin falter. The white pricks in his eye sockets faded to hollow darkness.

“fuck you.”

Papyrus gave him no time to react. With honed speed, his right hand was brought up over his shoulder and swiftly arced back down. There was a loud crack as the back of his hand connected with the side of Sans’ head.

Arm outstretched, he slowly lowered the gauntleted hand back down to his side. How dare he. Taking advantage of the untouchable status Papyrus had given him, lazing about like he had not a care, and then openly defying him. How dare he!

Papyrus’ gaze crossed over his brother once more. Sans’ head was still turned over his left shoulder, eye sockets shut tight. There were no visible marks around the temple area; good, Papyrus was not in the mood to have to heal this sack of trash. The desire to finish what he started was strong, but he had control. The captain had always praised him for his control; to be able to inflict the precise amount of pain. Dust could not fear, so when killing a monster resulted in them simply being reduced to a useless pile of pale dust the aggressor had to get creative.

Sharp jaw leaned in, bringing Papyrus’ face within inches of his brother’s. He lowered his voice to a low growl, “GET OUT OF MY SIGHT.”

Right eye socket barely open, the eye light visibly traced a path of escape before Sans bolted up the stairs. Papyrus gave a small huff. That had alleviated some of his frustration quite well.

He made his own way up, pushing on the door to the left to reveal his room. A quick survey to ensure everything was in its place and he was satisfied enough to get comfortable. Although his armor provided him with its own kind of protected comfort, here he did not have to worry about being battle-ready.

The scarf came off first, and with practiced ease he unfastened the clasps hidden under each arm and lifted his breastplate over his skull. His gauntlets followed suit before he pulled on a dark sleeveless shirt to cover his bare rib-cage. Dinner sounded good now, and he’d be damned if he were cooking for more than one tonight. Sans could fend for himself this time.

\----------

The door slammed shut pulling him with it as he threw his shoulder into it. Sans pried his hand off the doorknob. Papyrus was not pursuing him. He was okay. He would thank the stars for his luck, but luck was made in this world, not given. What had possessed him to say that to Papyrus? Had he gone stupid?

Sans allowed himself to slide down the door. His knees pulled up as he curled into himself and just held his skull in his hands. Loosing himself in his thoughts he pulled his hands away from his face. When had they started shaking? Dragging his bones off the floor he threw himself at his bare mattress. Sleep was always the solution, and this was no different. Tomorrow was another day. Maybe he could not screw that one up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so hard to get into words! But I really love how it turned out. I hope I did it justice.


	3. Let there be Light

Light crept across the floor inching closer to the mattress in the corner of the room; shoddy blinds did little to keep things dark. Bare walls surrounded the carpeted floor, which in turn was home to various discarded articles of clothing. A dresser was the only other large piece of furniture to be seen, a lamp with no bulb sitting atop it.

The sun hit his eye socket eliciting a low groan from the sleeping skeleton. It had only been a few weeks on the surface now and Sans was still having trouble adjusting to how bright it was. He flung his left arm over his face in an attempt to block out the offending ray. Apparently he had taken the time to shrug off his jacket last night because the gap between his radius and ulna did little to block out the light.

A long sigh escaped him. He almost missed the days of Papyrus barging in and dragging him out of bed, as odd as that might seem. There was no reason for that now. Sans had no job, no purpose. He was Papyrus’ errand rat and nothing more.

Rolling to his right side with the hope of escaping the sun that lingered in his room now, he was instead greeted by a throbbing pain on the side of his skull. Oh, right, last night. Phalanges poked and prodded at the tender spot; no cracks, it was just sore. The bone would be soft for a few days, nothing he couldn’t handle. It was the cracks that hurt, the fractures, the breaks. If left unhealed those were the ones that were permanent. But this was minor enough that his own body’s magic could handle it. He could tolerate those few days of pain.

Letting out a few more moans of quiet protest to no one in particular Sans forced himself to sit up. He needed to find something productive to do or his brother was going to have a fit. Bones creaking as he stood, he changed into a clean shirt and shorts, his favorite combo: red top, black sports shorts with the gold line down the side. Bending down to retrieve the discarded jacket his focus was jarred by loud rapping on the front door.

Was he supposed to be expecting someone? If it was something Papyrus was going to tell him last night, their fight must have caused him to forget. Not bothering to hurry, because honestly when did he ever, Sans meandered his way downstairs. Snide grin in place he unlatched the lock and opened the door after the third round of banging.

“I-it’s about t-time lazy bones!”

“oh. it’s you. hey alphys.”

The small reptilian monster brushed past him, not bothering to wait for an invitation inside. Yellow scales covered her from crested head to clawed toes. If she stood up straight she’d probably be taller than Sans. Hunched over as she was they saw eye to eye; although perhaps that was in more ways than just stature.

He peeked outside to make sure no one else was present before shutting the door and following after her.

“what brings you to my humble home o’ great royal scientist?” he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The monster scoffed “R-really Sans? All royal guards were informed of my required presence today.” Her words were rushed as was her movement into his kitchen. She flung open the door to the cupboard and began rustling inside. 

“well i’m no royal guard, so where does that leave me?” His emphasis on the word royal was accompanied by the rolling of his eye lights.

“That leaves you to serve the only useful one of the household. Maybe if you hadn’t been sleeping in you could be doing your job.”

“sleeping in makes the food rations come faster, they were the only thing i was expecting today. and as you can see, the pantry is empty, so why are you in there?”

Alphys scoffed, eyeing the skeleton as he moved closer. She reached into her pristine white lab coat for something and Sans rested his shoulder against the wall near where she had begun working.

“If you must know, Asgore has ordered me to restore electricity to monster homes. But he doesn’t trust my device to do it, so he’s having me test it on the guard’s homes.”

A snarky grin crossed his features, “yes, please subject us to your failed experiments.”

Anger crept up her face, but she met his gaze with a wicked smile, “Y-you of all monsters have intimate knowledge of failed experiments.”

His eye flared red before he closed both sockets. He was not going to let her get to him. She might know more about his past than most, but they both knew to keep their mouths shut, around each other and especially around anyone else.

Alphys had a status similar to Sans, both were considered relatively weak monsters. She survived due to her superior knowledge and ability to craft something out of seemingly nothing. He survived because, well, at this point Papyrus allowed him to. 

Willing his eyes open again, he saw Alphys had returned to the task before her and was completely ignoring him. He let out a soft sigh. Now was not the time to let his emotions show.

“so, how do you plan on restoring power?”

“Working with electricity is one of my specialties, so using the core - ”

“well I knew it was one of your core abilities.”

Doing her best to ignore him as his grin returned, she continued, “using the core as the power source, I crafted these devices to link up and leech power from the core. By placing one of these on each household I should be able to get power back up. Most of the useful wiring is still in place.”

Sans gave a grunt of acknowledgment. He was busy looking at the devices. Bending down to reach for one, he looked up at her momentarily. Alphys gave him a quick glance but continued working; he took that as silent permission to get a better look.

Picking one up and turning it over in his hand he could feel the magic radiating off it. The device looked simple enough; about the size and shape of a USB drive but heavier. It operated on some fairly complex magic, but nothing he hadn’t seen before. Anything based off the core was child’s play compared to the original.

“i guess it’ll do,” he muttered before carefully returning it to the pile.

“Maybe if you applied yourself and actually used your talents instead of ignoring them I wouldn’t have to be testing these because we would know they work.”

Sans chuckled, “but where’s the fun in that? then you wouldn’t be here, and i love hanging out with you, you never look down on me.” His grin widened as he brought his face closer to hers and raised a brow ridge.

She rolled her eyes at his antics. “You are unbelievable. You’re lucky you are one of the few monsters I tolerate. I’m sure a monster lacking flesh would be more than enough to hold my attention for various experiments.” Her sharp teeth gleamed in a sudden manic smile at the thought.

Letting out a guffaw he clasped Alphys’ shoulder, fingers digging into her coat with a little more force than would be comfortable, “trust me, you’d be hard pressed to do anything that hasn’t already been done.”

Alphys shuddered and her previous pleasure evaporated as his grip released. She shut the panel on the box she had been working on. “A-alright, just one more thing and this should be done. I have to make some adjustments to the wires outside. Wouldn’t want the power finding its way back to the humans and giving them a free ride.”

“you know that’s not how electricity works.”

“Of course, but adding magic to the mix makes it more variable and I’m not going to take that risk.” Tools collected she made her way back to the entrance and around the outside of the townhouse.

Sans followed after her, still curious how this was going to turn out, and honestly not wanting to be inside if something went wrong. His pupils scanned the immediate neighborhood. The few individuals who usually hung around outside had already scattered.

Alphys’ reputation was an interesting one. Here was a monster clearly known to be physically weak eliciting fear from others twice her size. He knew why; all she had to do was point at a chosen subject and they would be collected for her by the Royal Guard, likely never to be seen again. Few ever emerged from the basement of her laboratory. She eventually even stopped taking assistants as they proved to be useless to her and usually ended up on the table anyways.

The scientist was fiddling with another box on the side of the building as he approached. A pair of wire strippers in one hand while the other rearranged the wires in the box, it was almost artistic how she tore them apart and fitted them back together. He folded his arms and watched as she finished up.

“That should do it. Now we turn it on and - ”

“woah, shouldn’t we get a second opinion or something before we just flip the switch?” Eye sockets wide, he felt sweat start to bead on his skull.

She flashed him a glare, “You are the second opinion, don’t you think?” her clawed finger flicked a switch and she closed the cover. “Alright, let me know if I need to make any adjustments. Although I have a feeling you could handle it yourself.”

He relaxed a bit at the lack of destruction, anxiety fizzling out. “well that was anti-climatic. i think you’ve lost your spark, where’s the flair, the fireworks?” His hand gestured at the imaginary trauma he had envisioned.

“I have never been one for showmanship, and you know that.” A look of displeasure crossed her features.

“yea, but it’s shown itself in your work.” He smirked as a bony elbow nudged her arm.

Alphys knew what he was insinuating and huffed. “We’re not t-talking about him right now. Now if you’ll excuse me I have at least three more homes to get to today.”

She quickly turned and slapped her tail against his shin. Giving a muffled yelp Sans jumped back, startled by the touch. He watched her depart, feeling a little disappointed. He was going to have to entertain himself now. She was always awkward company, but he seemed to be one of the few monsters who could hold his own against her wit. And even if she wouldn’t admit it he could tell she tolerated his antics, maybe even enjoyed his jokes.

Stepping back inside, he flipped the first switch just inside the front door. The lights above the couch came on with no trouble. He felt a genuine smile creep up. It was funny; this simple return of comfort could bring him the smallest hint of joy. Making his way to the kitchen, he hit the next switch and was promptly assaulted with a loud pop. Two of the overhead bulbs lit up while the third was rendered little more than spent filament and shattered glass on the floor. Welp...there goes the joy. Guess he’d found what he’d be doing for the afternoon. It was time to venture out and get a replacement bulb; Papyrus would not be happy if he came home to this mess. Grabbing his keys he exited and locked the door before shoving them in the pocket of his jacket. Time to deal with the outside world again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed my version of Alphys, I really like her and think these two are hilarious together.


	4. The Captain

The scene before him was becoming a regular occurrence. Spray paint cans littered the ground, and broken glass was everywhere. Numerous bricks had been retrieved and added to the evidence; although why they were bothering to even collect it was beyond him. Battle armor creaking as he stood back up, he dropped the can he had been holding and looked to his captain.

“SO THIS OCCURRED OVERNIGHT? AND WHAT ARE WE EXPECTED TO DO ABOUT IT, IT SEEMS A BIT BENEATH US TO BE THE ONES INVESTIGATING.” Papyrus huffed; the dogs should be here, not him and especially not the captain of the Royal Guard.

“We’re here because I’m sick of being in meetings. We’re more than just advisors, and you and I both know we’re better out in the field. Besides, who better to show the strength of monsters than us?” There was a gleam in her yellowed eye as she flashed him a shark-like smile.

Undyne hadn’t bothered to don her own armor; there was no fight here to be prepared for. Instead toned muscles were left exposed, daring anyone to test their strength. The sleeves had been ripped off her black shirt in addition to the waist to expose her mid-drift. No reason to hide the biceps and abs that could suplex a boulder. The image of a broken human soul adorned her chest: a red heart with a crack running down the center. Gloved hands still gripped one of the bricks found at the scene; a quick flex and the two halves of the brick fell to the ground.

“These humans are becoming more confident. No longer content to just trespass, now they’re being destructive. Once was annoying but this is the fourth time this has happened. Evening patrols will be doubled, and you’re taking the first one tonight.” A sharp smile turned to him, it was a merciless grin outlined by dark lips. The monster was just taller than Papyrus, light blue fish-like scales covering her entire body. Fire-red hair pulled back into a ponytail exposed her finned ears. Her good eye fixed on him; the left one had been lost long ago and was hidden behind a black eye patch.

Papyrus did his best not to shrink under her gaze. She was in one of her moods, he could tell. Back in the Underground this would be when she would go off to darkest parts of Waterfall to hunt. Rarely dusting anyone, she would simply wreck havoc upon those she found. She needn’t prove anything, that was just her way of having fun. It had been in one of those moods that she had found Papyrus those many years ago. The battle was still one of his favorites, even if he had thought he was going to die. He had proven his worth to her, and as he lay on the ground ready to accept death she had instead extended her hand and pulled him up. He became a Royal Guard the next day. It was no act of compassion, there was no compassion in the Underground, she had simply found him worthy.

“AS YOU WISH CAPTAIN. AND WHAT OF THE EVIDENCE?”

“It will be destroyed. I have a cleanup crew headed this way. We will leave nothing for the humans to gloat over. It will look as if nothing ever happened.”

“AND IF THEY DO RETURN?”

She snarled, “King Asgore has ordered a peaceful resolution. Humans make too much of a mess. So, no killing and leave no mess. Take that as you will.”

Teeth clinking in satisfaction Papyrus nodded. He would have to show them the strength of monsters while ensuring the human government did not feel the need to intervene. So long as confrontations were handled within their borders and did not involve humans, the government had opted to stay out of it. But this same group of humans seemed intent on targeting the monster residences, slinking around the poorer parts of the neighborhood.

Both soldiers turned their attention to the trio of approaching monsters. Short in stature they appeared very much like turtles, green extremities and a blue shell structure that seemed to contain water and a single bird. It was the Woshua cleanup crew. They stood before Undyne awaiting orders.

“Clean up this mess. I have someone else coming to replace the windows, just get the garbage that’s written on the walls off.” Undyne’s voice was firm, never condescending when giving orders. The Woshuas took off toward the insults written on the side of the home, ‘freak, mutant, savage.’ Death threats had been written on notes tied to the bricks launched through the windows. The poor mouse monster that resided within had been terrified.

Undyne turned back to the skeleton beside her, “You are dismissed for the day. Get some rest; I want these humans to face you at your strongest.”

The second in command gave her a salute before departing. He knew to always give her the last word. Honestly, he probably knew her better than almost any other monster, both while underground and especially now that the task force was fighting this strange new war. He was intimately involved with these new strategies of peace. No matter how many times it had been explained to him peace seemed like its own kind of war. In order to keep it, one had to fight for it. Such an odd thing it was.

Back in the Underground there was no peace. Those on the surface may have forgotten the war, but the War of Humans and Monsters had never ended for those trapped underground. Soldiers were still trained for the assumed resumption once they reached freedom. And the best way for a soldier to become strong was not just training. No, the best way was to gain LV; this ‘l.o.v.e.’ or ‘level of violence’ was what those who were successful in the Underground strived for. It could only be gained by killing monsters. Humans hadn’t been worth any EXP in the war. So becoming stronger relied on taking out weaker monsters to become powerful. And those who were truly strong were the ones who knew how to pick their battles.

Strange alliances would form, some familial while others formed eventual pair-bonds. Papyrus grinned. That was probably the only reason he hadn’t killed Sans already. Such a weak and pathetic monster and yet he still lived. Likely only because others feared the younger brother’s wrath were they to claim Sans’ EXP as their own. 

He shook his head. Allowing his thoughts to wander to sentimental things would make him weak. There was no time for thinking unless it was to strategize. And right now he needed to get home and rest; he would obey his captain and be at his best for his patrol tonight.

Unlocking the door Papyrus was greeted by more light than he was used to. Good, Alphys had been by and restored the electricity. He moved forward to take note of the change in his domain. Hopefully Sans had stayed out of the way. Reaching the kitchen his eye sockets scanned the glass on the floor. Clearly he had asked for far too much. It was almost as if Sans could only be relied on for one thing and that was leaving a mess. He huffed. There was no time for this. As much as it pained him to knowingly leave a mess, he needed sleep.

A swift turn and Papyrus ascended up the stairs to his room. He hoped the humans returned, he could do with a good fight. His bones still itched with unspent magic.

\----------

He walked along the barrier of the fence, focused on the sound of his untied shoes hitting the pavement. It was smarter to walk in the street while still in the neighborhood, it’s not like cars were a problem here and it kept him further away from other monsters hanging around their homes. Keep his head down, don’t look at anyone. It was almost a mantra in his head by this point. It was what had kept him alive; it had kept both of them alive.

For the ten years he had been watching over Papyrus on his own he had never imagined they’d make it to the surface. Sure for the past five years it seemed more like Paps had been babysitting him, but what monster didn’t think of themselves as an adult once they turned eighteen? Now the skeleton that used to be so much smaller was a strong and proud twenty-two year old, and what was Sans? Twenty-eight and washed up. No achievements to his name, nothing remained constant in his life. Except for Papyrus, he remained constant. So that was what Sans had focused on, raising his brother and making sure he achieved his every goal. But what was he suppose to do now? Papyrus didn’t need him.

Raised voices pulled Sans from his thoughts. The gate ahead contained one of the usual brash guards who seemed to be arguing with one of the local obnoxious teenage monsters. A water elemental, female if the pitch of her voice was anything to go by. Not that monsters followed gender rules the way most humans did, but this elemental gave all the signs that she identified as such. She wore an oddly revealing outfit... Some monsters aspired to be more human than others, and this one had chosen a strange group of humans to emulate.

He stopped walking as the elemental’s voice reached a new octave, she practically screeched at the guard. Stars, what had the guard said? A quick flick of her wrist and the guard was splashed with water. She spun and walked away leaving the guard laughing at the exchange.

Sans was left dumbstruck. The human didn’t retaliate with violence. What an odd response... the guard just laughed. He had provoked the monster and she had responded as any monster would, although not with enough power to do damage. Sure Sans had his fair share of laughs, but not when his life was on the line. Did the guard know what kind of pain she could have caused him? Eye lights flitted to and fro from monster to human.

Well forget that; even if the guard did seem pacified after the exchange he did not feel like dealing with the human. Clearly he saw monsters as just something to toy with, and Sans did not feel like playing. Sighing he summoned up just enough magic and closed his eyes; a soft red glow enveloped his body. Eye sockets slowly reopened and he collected his bearings. He was on the other side of the fence, but it took quite a bit of magic to use one of his short cuts, even a jump that small. Hopefully he wouldn’t need it later.

In the Underground magic wasn’t spent willy-nilly. Sure if one had no plans to venture out they might spend some fire magic to cook or do similar things, but as long as there was a risk one needed to save it to defend themselves. Death could be around any corner and no one wanted to end up as someone else’s kill. Most of the time Sans would save his magic specifically to use one of his shortcuts as an escape from those kinds of situations. He couldn’t just play around with it. Even then he did his best to make sure no one saw him use it. Papyrus didn’t even know about his ability to move from space to space. Honestly he had no idea how he could do it, he just knew it wasn’t normal and he had been able to do it since... since then.

Looking ahead, his destination was only a couple blocks. Shoving his hands back in his pockets he kept his head down and moved forward, time to focus on the task at hand. He may have avoided one human but how many more was he going to have to deal with today? Hopefully not many. He wasn’t sure he had the energy to deal with much more. Right now, all he felt like doing was sleeping. He could do that, he was good at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it just as much!


	5. Daya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up for the new tag, there's a single mention of suicidal thoughts.

This was twice in as many days Sans found himself at the little shop on the corner. Walking around the outside of the building he peered into one of the grimy windows in an attempt to see who might already be inside. He caught a glimpse of what looked to be another monster but couldn’t get a good look. Feeling his anxiety reducing just a fraction at the lack of human shoppers he prepared himself to enter by taking in a deep breath and slowly exhaling.

He raised his left hand and pushed the door, his right hand nervously fidgeting in his pocket. Opening the door as quietly as possible, he scanned the inside of the shop only to hear a bell chime as he entered. It felt like his soul caught in his throat and he paused just to calm himself again. His pupils shot to the other monster in the store, but his presence hadn’t been noticed.

However it did look like the aisle he needed was blocked by the dragon-like monster. Sans let out a soft growl; he was not in the mood for a confrontation. Even though this monster was about the same stature as himself, he was in no place to risk finding out if he was stronger. He’d just have to kill some time until the monster got bored and moved to another part of the store or left.

Turning away, he decided to distract himself in the small section dedicated to food and snacks. Quite a few of the packages were familiar to him; they were of the more durable variety and could be found in the Underground’s dump. Somehow the river that ran on Mt. Ebott flowed into the underground and would often carry a variety of garbage from the overworld. Monsters frequented the dump, digging through to find various prizes of their own. Food wasn’t common, and rarely did it make it to the dump intact. But every so often a durable bag of peanuts or a well-sealed box of cereal would arrive and be whisked away to enjoy.

The monsters had a reliable source of food underground. They had their own ways of foraging and even some farms to feed the masses. But what the monsters had learned to consume to survive was so different to the variety the humans had created. Variety, it was just one of the many things they had lacked underground now that he could see how much there was to experience on the surface. And yet the humans themselves seemed to lack that variety. They all came in the same shape, only a few different colors and always the same orientation of bipedal. What could possibly be worth learning about such a basic creature?

He blinked and snapped himself from that thought. Zoning out was dangerous, especially in public. Looking back over the shelf he noticed a familiar container. He laughed to himself as he picked up a box of noodles from the shelf. Isn’t this what Alphys usually ate? Peering at the contents he let out a muffled gag. Why would anyone consume that much sodium? It would explain why she is so salty. He snickered and returned the noodles to their place.

Peeking over the shelf the coast was finally clear. He shuffled over to the hardware section and his pupils skimmed over each shelf like reading a book: hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, nails, bolts, washers, PVC, nothing here pertaining to electricity and definitely no light bulbs. He let out a low groan only to be cut off by yelling. Seriously, was it a holiday he was unaware of where everyone just shouts at everything? That’s every day for Papyrus, but Sans was used to it from him.

Moving from his cover to get a better look he could see the green dragon gesturing animatedly and pointing at the human behind the counter. As Sans got closer he could pick up snippets of the argument, if one could call it that. The monster was doing all the yelling while the human stood there timidly and just took it.

Eye sockets narrowing he took stock of the situation. This human was not the same one from yesterday. This one was female and clearly younger than the male he had met. She currently had one arm across her chest, the hand clinging to her other arm as it hung loosely at her side. Her eyes were fixed on the floor, a look of fear clearly painted on her face. He was familiar with that posture, it was one he had adopted in recent years when his brother would chastise him.

Closing his eyes he tried to shut out the noise, willing it away in his mind. Instead it started to bend and twist, the pitch becoming higher. He could hear his brother telling him how useless he was, how worthless he’d become. The voice warped again, becoming lower, almost a whisper. It hissed at him, saying how he would never amount to a thing, not with the way he was.

With a sharp inhale Sans’ eye sockets flew open, hands clawing at his skull. His mind returned to him, he was here in the shop, above ground. Gaze returning to the scene before him it was clear the human’s eyes had become misted. Her voice chimed in, a slight tremble easily noticeable.

“I promise sir, we haven’t changed any of our prices.” She bit her lip and her eyes squeezed shut as if in preparation for the upcoming onslaught of words.

“You are lying and you know it! All you humans are the same, exploiting our situation for your own profit and amusement!” A clawed fist slammed down on the counter, displacing various items from their homes.

“Please sir; I don’t understand why you’re so angry. These have always been the prices and they’re the same as other stores humans buy from.”

Dragging his phalanges down his face it was clear he had to make a choice. On the one hand, the shop didn’t have what he needed; there was no reason for him to stay. Monsters didn’t meddle in the affairs of others. This wasn’t his problem. On the other hand, it would be smart of him to not return empty handed, and he was no shoplifter.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, balling them into fists. Giving a sharp huff he moved out from the aisle and toward the dragon monster. Everything in his head screamed not to get involved; monsters didn’t get involved in the Underground. “hey pal, the human is just here to sell you shit, she doesn’t run the place.”

In a green blur the dragon whirled around, tail lashing in obvious anger. “What’s it to you skeleton?”

“it’s nothing to me actually, you’re just in my way.” Sans allowed his grin to widen, taking his pupils off the monster before him like he was bored already. He might seem weak, but he could bluff with the best of them.

Sharp eyes narrowed and a single flame-shaped bullet was summoned, left hovering in the claw of the owner. “Then do something about it.” The dragon revealed a razor-sharp maw as he smiled.

Damn, was this guy really going to call his bluff? He quickly looked at the human; she was hiding her face behind her hands clearly afraid of witnessing the scene. Eyelights resting on the bullet he took a moment to think. He couldn’t trash this place, and who is to say he could even win this? He couldn’t read the stats on this monster without starting a confrontation and if he did start then he’d be committed to finish, and monster fights rarely ended without someone getting dusted. Then there was the fact that Asgore had commanded no unauthorized dusting, and Sans was certainly not authorized. Guess he had to play the ace up his sleeve, he hated using this card.

“why should i do something about it? i mean, i can just leave right now and inform my brother you stood in the way of his orders. i’m sure he’ll be thrilled to hunt you down himself. waiting until you think you’re safe. you’d be dust on the ground before you even knew he was there.”

The dragon’s cat-like pupils narrowed to slits as he considered the skeleton’s words; a small plume of smoke exiting his nostrils as he gave a huff. Turning to regard the human a final time, he quickly spun back around and gave a mock-lunge toward Sans before exiting the shop.

Sans quickly went on the defensive, left eye lighting up and summoning a bone-shaped bullet of his own before he realized the dragon was departing. Facing the still cowering human he dismissed the small white bone as eye sockets faded to black before his white eye lights returned. She was clearly still shaken up from the whole exchange, but he could see her slowly starting to relax.

“Thank you.” It was the most timid whisper, barely audible.

“don’t thank me dollface, i didn’t do it for you. i don’t like humans as much as the next monster.” He rolled his eye lights feigning boredom.

“Then why do it in the first place?” She seemed to be growing calmer, enough to allow her curiosity to surface it seemed.

His pupils darted back to her and she reflexively tensed in response. “what did you say?”

“I...I asked why you did it in the first place. If you had nothing to gain you could have just waited until the other monster left. But you stepped in instead. Why?”

“listen,” he glanced at the nametag hanging at the end of the lanyard around her neck. “daya... monsters don’t care about each other, and we care for humans even less.” Snatching a package of batteries and flinging them on the counter he glared at the human. “just ring me up for these.”

Picking up the batteries she carefully scanned them, accepting his payment and returning his change. He tried to let a look of indifference settle on his features before taking the bag from her and turning to retreat.

“I hope to see you again soon.”

He let out a grunt in response and pulled the door to leave. 

Feeling the sun on his bones as he emerged outside he sighed, trying to release all the anxiety that had built up within his soul. This day was really shaping up to be a handful. He shoved his purchase in his pocket and buried his hand in the space left over. Unconsciously he began walking back, his feet going in one direction while his mind drifted in another.

What would he have done if that monster hadn’t backed down? Sure there’s no way anyone who couldn’t handle Papyrus on their own would dare take out Sans, but what if he had? Would Papyrus even care? Shit, would he even care? He’d contemplated ending it himself numerous times before; let someone have the EXP at least.

He looked up to see he was back at the fence already. Glancing over to the guard shack it was clear the human was asleep; must be near the end of his shift. Sans summoned his magic once more and continued toward the house now that he was back in the neighborhood.

The sun was beginning to set, and the view was enough to make something deep in his soul stir. He found himself watching the sunset rather frequently, but couldn’t pin down the reason why. Was he trying to make up for all the sunsets he’d missed? Heh, if that’s so then it’s one of the most pathetic reasons he could think of.

Drawing out his house keys he was startled to find the door was already unlocked. Slowly pushing the door open he braced himself for the worst but found everything just as he left it. If that were the case, then Papyrus must be home early and Sans was not ready to face him. Setting the batteries down just inside he pulled the door shut. Guess it was time to venture out again.

“welp. i’m going to grillby’s.”


	6. A Drink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meeting new people is always fun right? Geez Sans, lighten up. You need to become more of a social butterfly ;P

What the hell was wrong with him? He was known for being a smartass, not a dumbass. Why did he step in and stop that monster? That human hadn’t done anything for him, why should he have helped? Monsters didn’t step in and help other monsters unless they had a bond of some sort, and he sure as hell didn’t have a bond with that human. Sure Papyrus had stepped in before to deter others from dusting Sans and Sans had done the same when raising Papyrus, but that was their familial bond.

Really there were only two major bonds in the Underground. Familial bonds you didn’t get to choose, you were born with it. You owed them just like they owed you because you kept each other alive when one was weak. Pair bonds were stronger really, those were chosen. Familial bonds can be broken; the young can choose to turn on their parents to become stronger, siblings could take each other out to ensure their parents focused only on them. But one had to consider the fact they would be alone, they had to ensure the XP was worth it.

Pair bonds were never broken internally. They were strong, strong enough to often result in offspring. Familial bonds were just surface, pair bonds went all the way to the soul. He’d even heard that if one member of the pair was in trouble the other would feel it in their own soul. Of course Sans had no pair bond so he chalked it up to urban legend. Feeling it in your soul, really? Ha, the only time he felt anything in his soul was when he was being jabbed with... No don’t go there.

Thankfully the walk was much shorter than he initially thought, or perhaps his thoughts were the problem because he let himself get lost in them again. He was going to end up getting himself killed if he kept zoning out like that. He raised his eye lights to the establishment before him. This was owned by another one of the monsters that had been specially requested by King Asgore to accompany him to the surface. This one was known for his ability to break up fights and had endless amounts of self-control. Well... usually. Don’t try to run out on your tab and you’d live.

The sight wasn’t what he was used to back underground. This two story townhouse had been altered to reflect its current form. The front door was now an entrance to the business and the second floor was where the owner lived. A long wooden sign had been painted to read ‘Grillby’s’ and was a far cry from the dazzling glow of the old sign underground. There were few things he missed from underground, but the old bar was one of them. It did look like Alphys had gotten the electricity running here, so that was a plus.

Keeping his head down, he pulled the door and entered. He could feel everyone stop their conversations and look at him. It was like a scene from one of those old cowboy movies he’d found at the dump. Everyone just glared before returning to their previous talk. Making his way to the bar, he took his usual seat. It was safer to be at the bar, being on the outskirts meant you were secluded, it made you vulnerable. Being front and center made him feel just a tad safer. The bartender didn’t like him exactly, but a paying customer was more valuable alive than dust.

Sans raised a hand to get the bartender’s attention. The elemental was in the middle of polishing a glass and set it back with the others when he noticed Sans. Violet flames made up the entirety of his being, and he always dressed smart. Black jacket with a white fur collar hung unbuttoned, revealing the pinstripe dress shirt underneath. His outfit was accented by a blood red tie and various silver chains. He was a monster of few words, but if he ever got to talking it was a monumental task to shut him up. Kind of like Sans. The two had been in various debates, but, much like Alphys, Grillby was one who could hold his own against Sans in a war of words. Sans enjoyed those argumentative exchanges. If he weren’t so tired after the day he probably would have provoke the elemental into a few rounds.

Lowering his left hand as Grillby approached, Sans tried to hide how tired he was The elemental was too clever to accept the ruse. He scoffed at the sagging skeleton. “Giving up a little early today aren’t we?” His voice resembled the sound of a bonfire, not too quiet but not as loud as he had heard him before and crackling every so often.

“screw you, you know what i want. just let me be numb for a while.” Elbow on the counter, he propped his head up in his hand in a last ditch effort to appear awake. Grillby was one of the few monsters Sans would allow himself to be incapacitated around. Probably because by the time Sans would come around he was even less of an honorable kill. Grillby valued a challenge, and he knew so much about his regulars that they would be easily dispatched. Sans figured the elemental kept the weaker monsters around because it made him feel stronger. Even the canine guard didn’t dare threaten him.

Speaking of the canine guard, it was late enough in the afternoon that they had taken up their regular table at the bar. Grillby’s had been the most popular hot spot in Snowdin, although, how much of that was due to the fact the only other place to congregate was the library, one could only guess. As a result, the Snowdin Royal Guard often gathered at the bar every day after their shift.

Sans shifted in his seat enough to steal a glance at the dogs. Doggo was smoking one of his dog treats as he listened to Greater Dog go on about something that had him angrily worked up. Dogamy and Dogaressa were casually watching each other’s backs, although from what, he had no idea. Lesser Dog had taken his solo table and it looked like he was losing at cards against himself...again.

The skeleton chuckled to himself and returned to his more comfortable position just as Grillby set two shot glasses down. A look of disgust crossed his features as he poured the cheap grain alcohol. “This stuff will probably kill you.”

“i can only hope so.” His grin widened as he picked up the first drink. Both glasses were doubles, just enough to get him screwed up but not so much that Papyrus would have to come claim him. “cheers old-timer,” he threw his head back as he downed the shot and slammed the glass down on the bar. It burned, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. Grillby sneered at the comment. There had always been rumors that the elemental had actually been in the war, and it was well known that as long as elemental monsters avoided subjecting themselves to their opposite element they could live for quite a long time. So it wasn’t too far a stretch to assume Grillby had in fact been in the war. Sans could care less if it was true or not, he just wanted to get on the bartender’s nerves.

He claimed the second glass and just stared at it for a moment while he waited for the first to take effect. Back underground monsters had to be creative in their alcohol creation. Usually using various fruits or plants they had. Now that they were on the surface there was so much to choose from, and here Sans was drinking the cheapest garbage available. Whatever, he didn’t need fancy he just needed to be drunk. Being drunk meant he didn’t have to think clearly, and not thinking clearly meant his memories shouldn’t come haunting him.

Swirling his poison of choice he steeled himself before knocking back the second one, placing the glass down with a bit more care this time. Everyone knew he only came to get drunk, and even if he did try to hide it there were always visual signs he unintentionally gave off. The easiest to spot were his eye lights; they stayed the same normal size but appeared a bit fuzzy around the edges. Then if he stopped focusing on looking normal for too long his sockets would start to droop giving him a fatigued appearance. He usually kept quiet so the slur that would creep up wouldn’t give him away, but if he said anything he was toast.

“You know Sansy~, you really shouldn’t put yourself out there like this. You might find yourself in quite a bit of trouble.”

Looking to his right he found another one of the regulars had taken the empty barstool. A dark yellow rabbit monster he recognized. “what’s it matter, you know asgore put a ban on dusting. i’m as safe as can be anywhere i want.”

The rabbit scooted closer to him, stools only inches from each other, and brushed against his jacket. “Yes, but think how much safer you’d be if you had company.”

This wasn’t new to him. This particular monster was almost always drunk and got quite obnoxious. They were never annoying enough to warrant a fight, but there were times it had come close. They leaned in closer, chin practically on his shoulder, as they wrapped their left arm around his back.

Feeling himself instinctively stiffen as his anxiety started to build up he tried to think of an exit but the alcohol had taken full effect. He glanced up at Grillby but the bartender just smiled and continued polishing his glassware. Damn guy couldn’t be relied on for any kind of help. He’d have to use his own garbled mind to figure this one out. Squinting his eye sockets, he tried to think. But just as he closed them they flew back open as he felt a furred finger run along the side of his skull.

“Your brother has so much work to do now; it must get quite lonely in that house of yours. You know I am always free to come over and join you; just you and I.” Left arm moving lower toward the bottom of his jacket they reached out with their right hand and turned his face slightly toward them. “Just consider my offer,” they whispered, their face so close he could feel their breath on his cheekbone.

He squinted his eye sockets shut again; sweat was already beading on his skull. He could feel their left hand sneak under his jacket and brush against his hipbone. They giggled and he felt himself released from their touch. When he opened his eyes again the rabbit had left his side to return to their usual seat. He gave a sigh and dug through his pockets to pay for his drinks. He tried keeping a tab open once overnight, that didn’t end well. Placing payment on the bar he slipped off the stool and made his way to the exit.

It was dark outside, but even intoxicated he knew his way back to the house. Groaning he started on his way back. He couldn’t let himself get distracted by thought. The darkness was dangerous even with the new laws of peace. Keeping his head down and moving forward he was suddenly snapped into sobriety by the sound of heavy boots heading in his direction. Of all the sounds in existence, that was one that brought him to his senses the quickest. He caught a glimpse of dark armor with a flash of red. Time to brace himself.


	7. Vandals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy some more Papyrus, he's quite the badass in this chapter ;)

Rest was something that came easy to him when it was time for it. Sleeping during the day was something Sans did, not him. Papyrus casually inspected his home. He had given in earlier and cleaned up the glass in the kitchen. Sans probably would have ignored it anyway. Now Papyrus was just spending the rest of the daylight ensuring everything was in order. He had finished the dishes and dusted almost the entire townhouse. It felt good to know he was leaving a clean home before work. All these changes in his patrol schedule had thrown him off a bit. He liked it when everything was in order, when things were predictable. Sure he enthusiastically enjoyed a good puzzle, but trying to find cookware after Sans has done dishes is not a puzzle he relished.

He made his way back upstairs; it was time to prepare for his evening patrol. He had polished his armor as soon as he woke up so everything would be ready for tonight. One of the biggest roles of being a member of the royal guard was intimidation. And Papyrus prided himself on his spotless armor. No dings or dents; though he himself may have some scars of previous battles, to look battle worn was not proper. One needed to look crisp and ready to fight, not like they had just come from battle exhausted.

Adjusting his chest plate he reached for his scarf. It was his signature piece; monsters could recognize him from afar when he wore it. And that in turn ensured there were less monsters he had to deal with on his patrols. He couldn’t recall when he had started wearing it, but it wasn’t important.

Descending the stairs he ran through the checklist in his head as he did before every patrol. The house was clean; he had made sure of that. His magic was at its strongest and hadn’t been spent in days. Grabbing his keys he allowed himself a fleeting smile, he could feel this was going to be a good night.

The street grew longer behind him as he made his way toward his destination. He hated this part of town. It was where the less capable monsters lived, some would say the less fortunate. They didn’t even try to become strong; they remained weak and ran from confrontation. This area housed the bar, Grillby’s. Monsters too puny to properly defend themselves fled here, hoping the more of them there were the less chance they would be targeted. Safety in numbers they would say.

Even now on the surface and with the peace laws in effect, it was still habitual for weaker monsters to flee. There might be an order by the king to cease dusting, but dust couldn’t talk. In fact, compared to what Papyrus had been told of humans, it was significantly easier to kill a monster and get away with it than it was to kill a human. If a monster was dusted they were lucky to be identified and have their dust claimed. Usually it was left to disperse with the wind. Cause of death was only known if a witness spoke up or the one to claim the EXP bragged, and witnesses didn’t want to become dust themselves.

The sounds of the bar drifted to him, loud and boisterous. He couldn’t understand how the dogs of the Royal Guard could willingly be associated with such a disgusting place. He would never allow his image to be tarnished in such a way. It was bad enough his reputation suffered due to Sans.

As he drew closer the door opened and figure slinked out. Papyrus continued on his path, closing in on the establishment and the monster now present. There was no need to pause here; his duty was to patrol the living areas on the outskirts of the neighborhood which was still a few blocks away. But the figure wasn’t moving; all monsters should know to get out of his way. He was not in the mood to spend energy on a defiant waste of space.

Closing in on the creature, Papyrus’ eye sockets narrowed and he raised a browbone. Of course, of all the monsters to be in his way and prevent him from proceeding to do his job it would be his brother. He stopped his march a short distance from the skeleton before him and analyzed the state of his brother. Sans was refusing to look at him and the fact he was staying quiet spoke volumes.

“DRUNK AGAIN I SEE. YOU REALLY ARE USELESS. FRITTERING AWAY WHAT I’VE EARNED IN A PATHETIC ATTEMPT TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER. DISGUSTING.”

Sans had his eye sockets shut tight, left hand tightly gripping his right arm. Other than his drunken state, he didn’t look any worse for wear. “GO HOME BEFORE ANYONE ELSE SEES YOU LIKE THIS. AND IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT THERE ON YOUR OWN, THEN THAT’S ONE LESS PROBLEM I HAVE TO DEAL WITH.”

Sidestepping his sibling he continued on his mission. He needed to focus on what lay before him, not pausing to even glance back at his brother. He had received a message from Undyne a few hours after their meeting. It detailed rumors that the human vandals were going to target another part of the neighborhood tonight. Undyne had voiced her suspicions, but this further confirmed that repeat offenders were behind it. That was why she wanted Papyrus there. She would do it herself, he had no doubt, but he had control. He was one of the few she could send out and be confident that if she said no dust, there would be no dust, only fear.

The moon was settling itself into the sky, comfortably illuminating his path. Although the red on his attire was easy to spot, the black helped him merge with the dark and the moonlight was perfect for hiding his bones among the shadows. He may not be a ghost, but as a skeleton he seemed to be able to hunt much easier in the night on the surface than he ever did underground. And he was beginning to find it to be quite a thrill.

Perimeter fence coming into view he took stock of his surroundings. It was quite a distance from the last vandalized house but this was where Undyne wanted him. He would scout the area a few times, but he had a feeling he would be more successful if he hid himself and simply watched. So after a few laps he found a house near the fence and tucked himself into the shadows.

He had to wait only a few hours. Glancing at the moon, he noted its position had moved quite a bit and assumed it was close to one or two in the morning. He was growing quite fond of this celestial body and its ability to inform him of so much. Eye sockets trailing back to the new figures moving along the outside of the fence, he focused his mind and blocked out all other thoughts. It was a trio of forms, all about the same height and rather tall for humans so likely male. The first began scaling the fence, throwing some sort of covering over the barbed wire and dropping down on the other side. The second tossed some items over that were caught with a muffled metallic clack before joining its companion on the inside of the fence. The third seemed to struggle a bit to heft itself up but eventually made it over.

Papyrus scoffed. These were the vandals? They didn’t look battle ready; they were just young humans, sub-adult most likely. He watched their movements, noting the caution in their step. The three looked nervous, as they should be. Continuing to observe from his point of surveillance, the only shift in his posture was the slight turn of his skull as he followed the human’s path.

Stories used to be told of monsters lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce and devour humans for their souls. These were largely untrue, but did these humans know that? It was time to find out. Carefully he made his way toward the humans, lithe movements keeping him silent. They had formed a circle and seemed to be discussing something quite intently when the one facing his direction looked up and pointed at him causing the companions to spin around.

The skeleton stopped before the three. They were indeed all male but their line of vision came only to his chest. The one was a bit stockier like his brother while the other two looked a bit leaner. “HOW KIND OF YOU TO VISIT, BUT OUR HOURS DO NOT EXTEND TO THIS TIME OF NIGHT.”

The closest human jumped at the volume of Papyrus’ voice but quickly attempted to compose himself. The other two seemed to look to him in confusion and fear. Stars... the fear, these humans reeked of it. Papyrus never thought he’d be exposed to such a sensation, but their souls practically quivered.

“You don’t scare us! We can do whatever we want here, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us!”

Jagged corners of his mouth turned upward, “QUITE THE CONTRARY. YOU SEE, YOU ARE NOW IN MY TERRITORY. WHICH MEANS YOU MUST PLAY BY MY RULES.”

Giving a sharp slap to his back, one of the humans in the rear attempted to cheer his partner on and pushed him forward. “C’mon man, show this thing how strong we are. We ain’t scared of nothing!”

Reaching into saggy jeans, the human produced a sizable dagger and took on a stance that seemed to mimic a feline preparing to pounce. Papyrus’ gaze scanned over the human. This is what he was hoping for. Normally dark and empty eye sockets suddenly lit up with deep red pupils. He summoned his magic with intention like Undyne had taught him and a large red femur bone appeared in his right hand, one end sharpened to a fine point. The gesture caused the human to convulse and suddenly hovering inches from his chest was a bright orange heart, his soul.

That seemed to be enough to spur the human into action because in a flash he was running toward Papyrus. Given his training he might have taken on a better battle posture, but the human flailed wildly and Papyrus was able to simply grab the wrist of the hand holding the knife.

“YOU’LL NEED TO DO BETTER THAN THAT.” He threw the human back and brought his own weapon forward. “YOU CAN’T JUST EXPECT ME TO STAND HERE AND HOPE WE EXCHANGE BLOWS. WORK FOR IT!”

“What did you do to me?!” The human pushed himself off the ground and faced the guardsman once again. “What is that thing?!” There was panic in his voice as he pointed at his own soul. Papyrus rolled his eye lights. Perhaps he had expected too much from these humans, they clearly were not soldiers.

“MY TERRITORY, MY RULES. THIS IS A CONFRONTATION AND NOW WE WILL FIGHT. YOU MAY LEAVE WHEN THE CONFRONTATION IS COMPLETE.” Tossing his weapon into his left hand, he used his free one to summon a row of bones to encircle the pair. He was not losing this chance to battle.

Eyes wide the human pointed his knife at the wall of bones, as if expecting them to shoot out of the ground and impale him. “W-what do I have to do?” He turned to face the skeleton once more.

“DEFEAT ME IN COMBAT. IMPRESS ME. YOUR KIND LOCKED US AWAY HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO; SURELY HUMANS ARE STRONGER THAN YOU PRESENT YOURSELF.” Returning the femur to his dominant hand, he casually spun the weapon. As it twirled magic filled in the point to make it a complete bone, blunt on both ends. He ceased the spinning and pointed the new weapon at the human, “COME AT ME!”

Suddenly regaining composure, the human charged at him, dagger at his side waiting to slice when he came close. Of course Papyrus could read this maneuver, it was simple and primitive. Swinging the bone like a bat it connected with the human’s arm sending him to the ground once more. But this time he didn’t stay down, he quickly leaped up and arced the blade at the skeleton. Papyrus took a step back easily avoiding it and sidestepped, bringing the bone down against the human’s back.

He was on his hands and knees now, the dagger seemed to have been lost in the fall. Papyrus reached down and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, hefting him off the grass and off his feet. How pathetic, he himself fought better as a babybones than this human. Perhaps the human species had become weak since the war.

Papyrus dismissed his magic, the bones around them evaporating and leaving no sign they were ever there. “I AM GRANTING YOU MERCY HUMAN, I SUGGEST YOU TAKE IT.” He glanced around them and saw they were alone, how amusing. “IT SEEMS YOUR FRIENDS HAVE ABANDONED YOU. PERHAPS NEXT TIME YOU WILL BRING PROPER WARRIORS.”

He released his grip on the human’s shirt, allowing him to fall on his back. Scrambling backward, the would-be vandal tripped over himself while getting up and fled for the fence. He couldn’t get himself over fast enough it seemed.

That could have been more satisfying, but the buzzing in his bones had returned to a gentle hum. He doubted any more of those humans would attempt to return tonight, so it was time to return home. He would prepare his report for Undyne and in the morning update her on his success. Of course that success would be accredited to her, but it hardly mattered. He served his captain and that is what made the Royal Guard so great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After update post: Holy cow guys, this got me 30+ kudos! You guys really like some badass Paps. I hope I wrote him well :)


	8. Comforting Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans dwells on darker thoughts in regards to his life on the surface and the lives of monsters in general. His methods of dealing with his emotions are described in detail until he gets an idea of someone else to take it out on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*WARNING*~  
> This is a very heavy chapter, there is a lot of talk of self-hatred and descriptions of self-harm. If you are triggered by such things please skip this chapter. Although I feel it helps describe his character it is not required to read to continue with the story. See the short summary if you do choose to skip the chapter and want a synopsis of what you missed.

He listened as the sound of his brother’s boots faded into the distance. He was in no state to walk home, so with a deep breath he allowed his magic to take him there instead. Appearing in the living room, he made his way to the couch and fell face first into it. This day had been one hell of a ride and he wanted to get off.

His brother’s words continued to rattle around in his skull, ‘one less problem,’ ‘disgusting,’ ‘you can’t make it...on your own.’ It was true, all of it was true. Life underground hadn’t been easy, but it had been bearable, especially once they had moved to Snowdin. He was able to just fade into the background there, barely noticeable. Here on the surface however, he had no place. He had no job, this was his brother’s home, and his brother clearly was doing well for himself without Sans.

But that was just within this neighborhood. None of them really had a place on the surface, they didn’t belong here. They’d never be accepted among humans, and why should they? Monsters fought constantly, they hated each other. Perhaps the humans had shown them mercy by locking them underground. Let the monsters kill themselves off rather than making the humans commit total genocide when the war was over. If that was the case who was the better species here?

What did the world owe them? They’d lost the war and been shut away. What had they done to earn the right to be free? Maybe the world was better off keeping them shut away behind fences and gates. Were things really going to be that much better now that they were above ground? Sans punched a fist into the couch cushion. Monsters were just a garbage species.

But hadn’t it been the humans who had started the war? It had been their own fear of monsters leading them to turn thousands to dust. The fear of monsters claiming human souls to become stronger. The humans had slaughtered so many of his kind he had been told, and the humans became stronger from it. No, humans were not to be pitied. He hated them as much as he hated his own kind. They couldn't be trusted.

But there was one thing he hated more than anything else, surface, underground or otherwise. One thing that caused him more pain and anguish than he should have to endure.

Sans pushed himself off the couch and dragged his bones upstairs. His room was barren as usual but the darkness was a familiar comfort. Picking up one of the jackets on the floor he rifled through the pockets. He should have left it around here somewhere. Tossing it back onto the carpet he double-checked the jacket he had on only to confirm what he already suspected as his hands turned up empty. Damn it, can he have one thing go right today?

He flopped onto the bare mattress, springs creaking at the pressure. Huffing he tried to recall the last time he had seen it, had needed it. How long had it been... wait, that’s where he left it. Phalanges fumbling under his mattress found their grip on what he was looking for, his switchblade. He was never one for violence, hell he was a coward. But this little friend had been there for him so many times. Times when he’d felt just like this. Like nothing mattered in the world; like he didn’t matter anymore. Because he didn’t really. 

Sitting up he pressed the button to reveal the sharpened knife. Sad that this item was what he used to comfort himself. But there was no crying underground, you couldn’t show you were weak. Pain was how monsters expressed themselves. If you were angry, you inflicted pain upon a weaker monster. Sans was feeling pretty pissed, so why not take it out on the monster causing the problem? Rolling up the right sleeve of his jacket revealed why it was nice to not be affected by heat or cold and be able to wear it in all temperatures. Nicks and scratches covered his radius and ulna, some even extending up his humerus. Various ages of scars were present, some so old they were almost filled in as he had grown and aged.

Chipping had always made him feel better, it was one of the few things that did. It had happened on accident at first. He and his brother had been arguing when Sans raised his hand to swat away a sharpened bone his brother had summoned, instead he caught the razor edge of it on one of his carpals. Instinctively he had started to nurse it but realized it didn’t hurt, it actually made him feel better, calmer even with his brother still yelling before him. Once he had retreated from the fight he had tried to recreate that feeling of calm but his own magic couldn’t damage him, he had to be creative. So he had started small, tiny pricks even, but needles were something he couldn’t stand. They caused him immense anxiety so he avoided anything needle-sharp at all costs. But knives, those were different.

His brother would know if one of the kitchen knives were missing so Sans had begun scouting the dump for anything useful. Sharp pieces of metal sufficed until he had found his little switchblade. Cleaned up and sharpened it worked like a charm. He had started closer to his elbow, sawing into his arm and pulling up until some of the cortical surface bone chipped off leaving only dust in its place. Early on that’s where he’d stop, but eventually a tiny speck of dust wasn’t satisfying enough. He’d begin chipping, feel the calming release and then feel the need to do it again soon after. If there wasn’t dust he didn’t feel better. When he did it he felt like all the pain and messed up thoughts in his head were in the dust and he could just blow it away. It was like a high, as if enduring it made him stronger.

But what if Papyrus caught him again? He didn’t know when his brother was supposed to be back, he might just be on a quick patrol. The last time Sans had been found out Papyrus tried to knock some sense into him in his own way, by beating him senseless. Sans had woken up hours later still on the floor of his room, his jacket covered in his own dust. The cracks in his skull had been thin enough to heal on their own, which was good because Sans was shit at healing.

Sans’ face contorted, anger building in his chest. Here he was trying his best to find a place in this new life on the surface and all his younger brother could do was point out his shortcomings. Always out there tromping around like he owned the place. Like he suddenly had everything he could hope for here. 

Sans looked down at the blade again. Maybe Papyrus did finally have everything he’d ever hoped for. None of this really was his brother’s fault, was it? They had lived such poor lives in Snowdin until Papyrus had made it into the Royal Guard. Sans had always been useless. Every time he tried to make things better, they always got far worse. He took odd jobs to survive, but stronger monsters always took an interest in how weak he was and Papyrus would have to come to his rescue. Even as a babybones Papyrus was physically stronger than him. Strength was valued over intelligence. He had tried to apply his mind to make things better but even then that backfired. It was why they had fled to Snowdin.

Rage took over and he threw the switchblade across the room and into the far wall. Why had he even tried? The only time he had ever applied himself to anything and what did he have to show for it? One HP, unexplainable magic, and a reputation that vanished without a trace. He dragged his phalanges down his skull, clawing at it until he could feel the dust forming. Maybe everyone would be better off if he were gone; he sure wasn't doing anyone any good by sticking around. Not like his brother would mourn him, he probably wouldn't even give him a proper funeral. Not that he deserved it. What had Sans done for this world? 

Getting up from his mattress he made his way to the wall and pulled his blade out. Carefully closing it back up he tucked it into his jacket pocket for safekeeping. Maybe he would need it later, but right now he was just as mad at the world as he was at himself. A knowing grin spread across his face; he knew just where to go to let off some steam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: everything taking place in my story so far is based on things that actually happened in my life. Shocking right? (I'm being mildly sarcastic ;) ) Papyrus is based on how I used to behave (the scene of him hitting Sans is from his POV for a reason, it was probably the most painful chapter for me to write), Sans right now is very similar to how I used to be (the self harm is someone very close to me) and eventually he'll work his way to how I am now. But let's be honest, there's a little piece of the author in every character they write, right?
> 
> Also I have been informed I have a comma addiction. Sorry, not sorry ;)


	9. Questions

The house was dark when he arrived home after his work shift last night. He had been feeling quite satisfied with his patrol, and he wasn't about to ruin his mood by making sure Sans had made it home. But now it was morning and Papyrus was feeling refreshed with only a few hours of sleep. It was time to fall back into the routine.

Armor still sitting in his room, Papyrus was casually dressed and making his way across the hall toward Sans' door. He didn't always worry about waking his brother, but on mornings after Sans had been drinking he made it a point to wake him up early. If the idiot was going to go out and get inebriated then he should face the consequences.

Leading with a firm rap of his knuckles and following with his booming voice he hoped it was enough to startle the older skeleton. “GET UP SANS, I WANT YOU OUT OF THE HOUSE FOR THE DAY.”

He was satisfied to hear a loud clatter and a thump against the door followed by his brother's baritone grumbling. “DON'T MAKE ME COME IN THERE.”

“yea boss i’m up.”

A smirk passed over his features before he turned and marched toward the kitchen. Breakfast sounded perfect, and he supposed he could make enough to leave for his brother; after all rations had come in yesterday. He would take his fill before meeting with Undyne to deliver his report. It felt like the makings of a good day.

\----------

Sans rubbed his hand on the back of his skull. He had apparently fallen asleep against the door last night and Papyrus had scared the shit out of him. The lamp had rolled across the room and come to a stop near his mattress after he'd kicked it off the dresser in a fit of panic.

Dropping his hand to his side he let out a sigh as his head fell back against the door, only to find himself wincing from the sharp throb that radiated out from the impact. Everything was too bright and the ache in his skull was probably going to persist all morning. The sound of pots and pans being thrown around downstairs wasn’t helping his mood either. Of course Papyrus was doing to do his best to make Sans miserable this morning.

With a groan he steadied himself using the dresser and hoisted his bones off the ground. How had he ended up by the door anyways? Mind wandering back to only a few hours ago his eye lights shrank by a fraction. He must have passed out on his way to leave. No matter, apparently he was being kicked out for the day anyways so at least there was an idea of where to go.

He glanced down at himself. Still fully dressed there was no need to change, so he may as well see if there was any food to replenish his magic. Shoving his hands into the jacket pockets he remembered his little friend and wrapped his fingers around the switchblade. He’d keep it on him for now. It was a mild comfort.

Slinking down the stairs he hoped Papyrus had already left, but that was wishful thinking. Papyrus would wait to make sure Sans left and didn’t try to hide in the house. He leaned against the wall separating the kitchen from the living room and listened to the sounds of his younger brother preparing breakfast. Maybe he could grab something for his headache before he left. His skull slowly dipped forward as the fatigue started to claim him, but he was abruptly jostled awake again as dishes were thrown in the kitchen sink. 

Papyrus appeared before him, plate in hand and a judging look in his eye sockets. “YOUR PORTION IS ON THE COUNTER.”

Sans peeked around the corner to see a plate with a decent amount of food on it. He waited for Papyrus to sit at the dining table before snatching his own meal and heading for the couch. There was no way he was sitting at the table with his brother right now. He’d endured more awkward things but that didn’t mean he had to subject himself to them.

The couch sinking under his weight was a slight comfort but the food worked wonders on improving his mood. He was so used to eating only enough to stave off the hunger pains that to feel full was rare. His magic felt stronger than he could remember in recent history. 

His brother’s shadow passed over him pulling Sans from his thoughts. Papyrus was paused on the stairs and looking at him. “YOU BETTER BE GONE BEFORE I COME BACK DOWNSTAIRS. AND WASH YOUR PLATE, I BETTER NOT FIND IT IN THE SINK.”

Sans sneered as he watched Papyrus vanish up the stairs. Hefting himself off the couch he grabbed a dishtowel and wiped off his plate before setting it in the drying rack. They still had no running water, but he was not about to go through all the effort of using the bottled water to clean one dish. Grabbing his key from the table near the door he retreated outside.

He supposed he should be grateful for the clear weather, but right now it could rain and he wouldn’t care . Sneakers led the way to the only exit out of the neighborhood and Sans tried to prepare himself.

“Hey funny man, you’re back! Where’s the ‘tall and dark’ compliment to your ‘short and squat’ self?”

Sans rolled his eye lights at the guard. “busy.”

“Awe come on man, I need some kind of entertainment today and you’re my first customer. Hey! You should have seen the chick that came through here yesterday, fine looking water monster. I think she’ll be back.”

“better be careful or you’ll drown in that day dream.” It was the most reluctant he’d ever been to make a joke, but he knew the guard wasn’t going to let him through without something.

“Haha! See, this is why you’re the funny man. Let me see your identification and I’ll let you through. I’m sure you’re just as excited about getting back to continue our conversations as I am.”

Sans groaned as he reached into the pocket on the inside of his jacket to pull out the laminated card with his number and information on it. All monsters that came to the surface were required to have it on them if they left the neighborhood. Sure it seemed innocent enough; it had a picture of the monster along with an assigned ten-digit number. What was degrading was the monster’s name was in quotes and each monster was given a human-labeled ‘type’ according to what the humans thought they looked like. Some were pretty basic, Sans was easily labeled as a ‘skeleton monster,’ but others were more insulting. There was a rumor the king’s actually had him labeled as a ‘goat monster’ like he was just some kind of animal. It couldn’t be proven, Asgore would probably personally dust anyone that tried to look, but the rumor was bad enough.

“You should smile next time you get one of these made, oh wait! You’re always smiling! Hahaha!” The guard slapped his knee as if he’d just said the best joke all day. This human was insufferable, but Sans was in no position to try and argue. “Okay, see you soon pal. Don’t stay away for too long.” He handed Sans the card and leaned back in his chair, probably for a nap.

He couldn’t wait for that guard to do something stupid so he could use his magic to put him in his place. Sans knew he’d have to be provoked, and even then it was doubtful he’d be able to get away with it. But the shopkeeper, she seemed like an easy enough target to vent his frustrations on.

The shop came into view and with it two humans towering over a trembling whimsum. Getting closer Sans could see one of the humans was that meathead from the other day, Mark. Yea, no, not getting involved. He had his own issues to deal with and he doubted having a run-in with Mark would let off the energy he wanted to burn.

Slinking past the fuss, Sans entered the shop and a sly grin spread across his face when he saw the human from yesterday was working again. She seemed to take the other monster’s wrath quite easily, Sans should have no problem taking some of his anger out on her. But his irritation soon vanished when he saw the state of her. She looked worn down, her elbow on the counter and head propped up in her hand. He’d have to resummon his gall if he’s going to make this trip worthwhile.

He walked over to the wall lined with coolers. Bottled drinks filled every inch from floor to ceiling. He stood facing it while he tried to come up with a plan. He had figured yelling at the human would be at least somewhat satisfying after everything he endured yesterday, so why was he suddenly feeling guilty.

“You know, the selection won’t change even if you keep staring at it.” Her voice was timid, was she trying to make a joke? Sans glanced over his shoulder to see the human known to him as Daya had left the safety from behind the counter and was approaching him. He scoffed and turned back to the bottles he had been staring at. “Can I ask you a question?”

“you just did sweet cheeks.” He could hear the huff behind him and let the edge of his mouth twitch into a grin.

“Why didn’t you do anything for that monster outside? You’ve stood up to Mark before haven’t you?” She still sounded hesitant but seemed determined to have a conversation with him.

Slowly turning to face the human he narrowed his eye sockets and could see her courage begin to retreat. “why should i? i don’t know them, and even if i did why would i risk myself for someone else? they don’t owe me money so i don’t care if they get dusted.”

“But it was just one monster against two humans. Surely you have some comradery for a fellow monster, especially against humans?”

The confusion in her eyes was laughable, she really didn’t get it did she? “no. i don’t care what happens to other monsters unless it directly affects me. and why do you care what happens to any of us?”

A dejected look came over her, “My father would say ‘losing monsters would be bad for business’ but I think he cares more than that. I know I care. He’s mentioned you before and the other skeleton that used to come with you.”

Well that explains why she’s been here instead of Samir and the vast age difference. But it’s the last thing she said that has his anxiety rising. “why would he talk about us?” He tries not to sound concerned, playing it off as bored curiosity but he’s sure she can hear through it.

Her smile emerges, “He likes you two. He says monsters and humans alike seem to behave in his shop as long as the two of you are present. And after yesterday, I think I feel the same way.”

Sans must have let his hardass façade slip while she spoke because a genuine look of confusion had taken over his face. Her hand came up to stifle a giggle and he quickly readjusted the lining of his jacket hood in an attempt to regain composure. “i already told you it wasn’t for you, i had to get things done and that monster was taking too long. you really are clueless when it comes to monsters aren’t you?”

That should get her off his back; say something offensive and unless they want to fight he’d usually be left alone. It was his go-to tactic. Stronger monsters would usually just roll their eyes at him, but even they knew not to push the issue. Turning back to stare at nothing, he was surprised to hear her voice just as enthusiastic as before. “Then teach me?”

He cocked his head to the side as he faced Daya again. Eye lights scanned her from top to bottom looking for any trace of humor in her stance. She was serious? Fine, he’d play along if it’d get her off his back. “you get one question, but then you have to leave me alone.”

Pure joy radiated from her, it was almost overwhelming. “Okay, what were your first thoughts when you saw the surface?”

Sans was dumbfounded. Really? “i give you one question and you ask that? not ‘how do monsters eat?’ or ‘what are monsters made of?’ or even ‘what was it like underground?’ you want to know...that?”

She nodded, the energy becoming tamer but still shining in her eyes.

“big. i thought it was big.”

“Come on, you only give me one question so at least give me a better answer than that. It must have been amazing, seeing a completely different world so suddenly.”

Gaze unfocusing past her he thought back to that moment, the first time he had actually seen the surface. It had been an overwhelming fear. Fear that they would be slaughtered the moment they emerged only to be met with serene nature, an unexpected peace. It had been night but the sun was peeking over the horizon. And to look toward it, he really had felt small. While the others were busy taking note of areas of possible human conflict he had been transfixed by the retreating stars in the sky. It was better than he’d dreamed of; infinite worlds beyond this one, each one unique. It had made something stir in his soul, something he couldn’t explain and had never felt before.

“nah, just big.” A condescending grin spread across his features, but was soon doused when he saw her smile turn mischievous.

“Okay, I suppose I can live with that answer. But I’m going to have to get back to work now, and part of that is making sure no one loiters around here. Father hates it when people just hang around and don’t buy anything.”

Damn, he couldn’t go home, not yet! Papyrus would be furious. Sans’ eye lights flitted back and forth as he thought about what to do, where could he go?

“Or I can make you a deal.” Her voice cut through his panic, she had his attention. “For every half-hour you stay here I get to ask you a question and you have to answer truthfully and with an acceptable amount of detail.”

He studied her face, looking for any sign of deceit, “what’s the catch?”

“No catch. You get to stay while not technically loitering. You can pay me in knowledge.” She offered her hand to him.

Thinking for a moment, he really didn’t have anything to lose. He could avoid Papyrus and other monsters while having the tentative safety of the shop. He wrapped his bony hand around her small, fleshed palm. “deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I left you guys with that depressing chapter for two weeks. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it :3 And don't worry, we'll see Papyrus again in all his glory, I know how much you guys liked him. Love you all <3


	10. A Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got this proofed, no more messy fatigued chapter. Still love you all <3

Papyrus was pleasantly surprised to see that Sans had indeed vanished from their home when he returned to the living room. He had expected an argument upon his return downstairs after donning his armor. No matter, with Sans out of the house there was one less thing he had to deal with. In the early years as a Royal Guard, Papyrus would often find himself teased due to his relation to the weaker skeleton. No one dare bring it up now except for Undyne, and even she could care less about Sans’ continued existence.

Monsters from the same families would usually share the same abilities. They would have the same types of magic, the same bullet shapes, and more often than not the same stats. Yet here was Papyrus, the strongest guard from Snowdin and one of the strongest monsters in the Royal Guard second only to Undyne herself, related to what had to be the weakest monster in the entire Underground. He knew his older brother used the same type of magic, Sans had been the one to teach him when his own magic started developing. 

Report papers in hand, he locked the door as he left and began his trek to the new headquarters of the Royal Guard. Thinking back to the first time he successfully summoned his magic, he felt the corners of his mouth pull up slightly. It was such an abysmally small amount of magic compared to what he could do now, but summoning that single bone-shaped bullet had been a monumental task at the time. It had taken all of his effort and concentration. And Sans... Sans had been so happy, proud even.

He raised his eye sockets to the building before him, pulling his thoughts from where they’d been lost in the past. A pair of guards nodded at his arrival, and, with a brief salute, they moved from their position to allow him passage. This building had been altered to become the King's meeting room. Papyrus longed for the old War Room underground, but knew the change was necessary. As they were no longer at war with the humans, most discussions now revolved around improving life on the surface.

Passing through the small entryway he exited into the main room of the building. Individual desks lined the sides while the vast space in the middle was occupied by a large oval table. He had been told the table was made of oak and it had required four guardsmen to move. And standing off to the side was the one he was expecting.

“What took you so long?”

“YOU KNOW I AM ALWAYS PUNCTUAL, DID YOU DOUBT MY APPEARANCE?” 

“Nah. Is that the report?” A yellowed eye glanced at the papers in his hands before looking back to hold his gaze.

“YES CAPTAIN. I RECORDED ALL THE EVENTS OF LAST NIGHT IN ADDITION TO MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE CONFRONTATIONS.” Papyrus gave Undyne a salute before dismissing the formalities and adopting a more comfortable stance. Handing over the papers she quickly unrolled them and began skimming over the information.

A sharp laugh escaped her and she tossed the papers onto the table, “So you’re telling me that not only do these humans look wimpy but they’re not even willing to fight? Fuhuhu! That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day!”

Both their heads jerked up at the sound of the door opening, and immediately they came to attention. The large figure entering was one who demanded respect. This meeting had been called by him, and he was the final one to arrive.

King Asgore had to duck to avoid hitting his horns on the door, they curled only slightly in their spiral up and back. He was one of the tallest monsters in existence. One could argue he was made of pure muscle. Covered in platinum fur, his face was highlighted with dark brown hair and a beard.

No monster dared to cross King Asgore. He was not a tyrant, but he tolerated no one who disobeyed him. It was he who had lead the monsters to a 'kill or be killed' lifestyle. Of course that had been due to the war, but it carried into how they functioned underground. Weak monsters were allowed to persist assuming they still had a function, much like his Royal Scientist. But it was the strong he valued.

His Royal Guard was his pride, made up of only the strongest monsters. None, of course, passed him in LV but they had the most EXP of all the monsters from the Underground. After the loss of his son and the departure of his mate he had flown into a rage and killed many of his staff. Undyne had been a young thing at the time when he’d found her. She stood up to him, and since then he’d molded her into the ruthless captain she had become.

He nodded to the two standing before him, “Captain, please report.”

“Your Highness. Three humans scaled the fence and proceeded toward one of the poorer parts of the neighborhood. Guardsman Papyrus intercepted the three and challenged the strongest to a confrontation. The weaker two fled and the third followed soon after. I don’t think they will return anytime soon,” she grinned with the final statement.

“I did not ask for what you thought yet, Captain.” His face was void of emotion and Papyrus flinched internally.

“Of course, your Highness.” The grin never left her face and Papyrus had a feeling this was a common exchange between the two. She was always challenging him, reminding him he was a monster too.

The king’s attention turned to the skeleton and Papyrus felt as small as a babybones, but he straightened himself up and kept the king’s gaze. “How do you feel the human faired in battle?”

“YOUR HIGHNESS, THE HUMAN WAS HARDLY A WORTHY OPPONENT. IT WAS LIKE TRAINING A MONSTER WHO HAD BEEN PASSED OVER FOR RECRUITMENT INTO THE ROYAL GUARD.” 

He sneered and broke his gaze with the guardsman. Walking to the head of the table, Asgore scooped up the papers Undyne had set down when he’d entered. “Where do we go from here Captain?”

“Your Highness I suggest we allow the guards to use a show of force for any further encounters.” Her voice reflected her amusement; this has to be what she had been wanting since they broke the surface.

King Asgore seemed to ponder this as he took a seat and glanced over the report. “The use of force is granted, but the human must have entered our territory without permission. There had better be no death of humans on our side. I do not have patience for the human investigators. Guardsman Papyrus you are dismissed. Take the day for yourself, you did well. Captain Undyne, we must speak further.”

Sharp teeth flashed Papyrus a smile as she took a seat near the king. “THANK YOU YOUR HIGHNESS.” He saluted and marched toward the door. Undyne would likely fill him in later on any additional orders.

Emerging from the meeting room Papyrus was beset by two familiar guardsmen. “You fought a human?” “(Did the human fight well?)” 

“THE HUMAN WAS PATHETIC IN COMBAT.” He continued walking trailed by the two dog monsters. The Dogi as they were known. Dogamy and Dogaressa individually, but they were a bonded pair and insufferably inseparable.

Habitually he checked his phone for any new messages, but the only one he ever really heard from was Undyne. “EVEN ONE OF YOU COULD HAVE TAKEN THEM ON.”

“We shall eliminate!” “(Eliminate the humans!)” Hackles were clearly raised in their enthusiasm. 

“THERE WILL BE NO ELIMINATING OF HUMANS PER KING ASGORE, YOU KNOW THAT.” He scoffed at the two. Dog monsters were generally excitable and these two were no exception. The Dogi were also from Snowdin and still reported directly to him. Stars could only imagine the trouble he’d be in if one of his subordinates disobeyed and dusted a human.

“We follow orders.” “(What are our orders?)” The dogs had their tails down but not tucked.

“PATROL THE FENCE LINE. I WANT TO BE INFORMED OF ANY HUMAN MOVEMENTS AROUND OR NEAR US.” That should be enough for now. The sub-adults should still be licking their wounds, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try to make an appearance.

“We will patrol.” “(Patrol for humans.)” Ears perked they dashed off. That would keep them busy all day, and if they did see something he could count on a message to follow soon after. Now he needed to check in on the Royal Scientist. The neighborhood needed running water and she was the best one to see about getting that done. With some luck it’d be another thing he could check off his list.


	11. Things are Looking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please pardon my writer's block with this chapter and the last one. I'm revamping my outline to try and work it out. Until then take this silly banter. I love making these two interact.

Days passed like this. Sans would show up for a few hours, hang around, answer questions, and be out of the house from before Papyrus started his patrols to late mid-day. He made the mistake once of showing up on a day Samir worked and got a very paternal scolding for loitering. Her dad really did take that shit serious. After that Daya had been sure to tell him the schedule she usually worked.

He was sitting on the floor with his back to the counter. Recently he’d taken up residence in the small walkway with the fold-down counter that separated the cashier space from the rest of the store. Daya had only tripped over him a couple times like this, not enough to evict him from the spot just yet. Right now her arms were folded on the counter and she rested her chin on them. Neither had said anything for almost twenty minutes and Sans was content to just listen to the rain for the moment.

“So it just vanishes? Like evaporates?”

“no, i never said that. it’s absorbed.”

“Yes, I got that part but even humans can’t absorb all the nutrients from their food. There are some wasted elements that have to be expelled.”

“that’s a funny way of saying it,” he chuckled. Daya peeked her head over the counter at him so he had to look up to see her. “what?”

She sighed, “I know you said you’d answer my questions, but sometimes you need to elaborate on them. How does the whole process work? How do monsters eat and yet not have to digest?”

“look sweetheart, the food goes in and gets broken down into pure magic. there’s no waste because it’s magic. we’re not eating the food to keep an organic body alive, we eat to replenish the energy in a body made of magic. magic doesn’t decay, so neither can we or our food.”

“Okay, so monster food is different from human food then?”

“i already answered a question for this time period.” He grinned at her and went back to browsing on his phone.

“No, those two were in relation to the last one and that was almost thirty minutes ago. So now I get to ask another one. What is the difference between monster and human food?”

“almost isn’t a half hour.”

“Fine.” She lowered the counter like a lid to the Sans box below and rested her elbow on it. “Then I’ll just wait here for another few minutes until you decide it’s time for another question.” With that she began drumming her fingers on the divider above his skull.

His phone was normally a great distraction, but it wasn’t enough to subdue his short temper. With one swift motion he balled up his fist and punched up at the counter. All he got in return was a fit of giggling.

“don't you have work you’re supposed to be doing instead of bugging me?” He huffed feeling the anger leave him just as quickly as it had come.

“Not really. Father prefers to do the restocking himself. My job is just to mind the store, and with this weather I doubt anyone will be visiting. Do you feel better now?” He looked up to see her lifting the counter and grinning down at him.

“no, but i'm used to it. why do you humans do that?”

“Do what? Work a job?” She smirked; she had to be toying with him.

“laugh. every time i see a monster get angry at a human and retaliate, the human almost always laughs.” He stared back at his phone; it had gone dark by now but was easily brought back to life with the swipe of his finger.

“It’s an instinctive response.”

“you say that like it answers my question,” he glared up at her.

“Well now you know how I feel when you don’t answer mine, but I’ll be nice and answer yours. It’s theorized that humans laugh as a way to communicate to others, often in response to what was thought to be a dangerous situation that turned out okay. Like when someone trips but isn’t hurt.”

He was staring. He could feel that he was staring, and a browbone had risen up in surprise. “where did that come from?”

“I...what? Where did what come from?” Her hand brushed a stray hair from her face as she looked away from him.

Sans blinked and brought his eye lights back into focus. “that was just a really smart answer, i wasn’t prepared for it.” He looked over to the window to see the rain had stopped and glanced down at his phone to check the time. It was late afternoon. He had been out long enough to satisfy Papyrus. Lifting himself off the floor he made his way to the exit. “welp, i gotta bail. thanks for the wifi.”

That seemed to chase away the shy demeanor that had taken over. “Wait, the wifi is password protected.”

“it sure is dollface.” He could hear the exasperation in her voice as she called out his name, but the door closed before he could hear anymore. He allowed himself a chuckle; she’d probably chew him out for that next time he showed up.

The walk home had become much easier recently; he hadn’t seen any of those humans that used to hang around the store for a few days. Word had gotten around that some humans had crossed a monster and since then they’d been sparse. He knew who that monster had been. Papyrus had been sure to recount the whole thing the evening after his meeting with Undyne. It was the happiest he’d seen his brother in years now that he thought about it. All the better for him. If Papyrus was happy then he wasn’t taking any of his frustrations out on Sans.

He rolled his eye lights as he came up to the gate. The guard was asleep again. This one usually was. He was older than the other two and was only part-time, and man was he slow. Sans rapped his knuckles against the glass, “wake up, some of us have lives to live.”

The man woke with a start but relaxed when he spotted Sans. “Take it easy, Mr. Skeleton. What’s the hurry?” He slid the window open to take the ID card Sans had pulled out.

“i swear, you keep telling monsters to ‘take it easy’ and one day someone is gonna flip out on you.” He could feel himself getting more and more agitated as the human typed in the information one key at a time. “listen man, i know you’re already old but can you do this while the rest of us are still young?”

The guard handed Sans back his card with a smile, “Of course, young man. Have a pleasant evening.”

Sans could only sigh as he tucked the card back into the pocket inside his jacket, “yea sure.”

Shoving his hands in his pockets he headed for home. He would never call it that out loud, but he supposed this was a permanent move. Things did seem to be getting better. No one was going to dust him so he didn’t need to keep an eye on an escape route at all times. And that left him time to actually look at his surroundings. The surface was kinda nice if you ignored anything related to humans.

He pushed open the door to their townhouse knowing Papyrus was already home. Water was running in the kitchen so his brother was likely working on dinner. The water being turned back on had been some of the best news in weeks. As a skeleton monster they could survive without it, but it was nice to be able to shower again.

“SANS?”

“yea boss.”

“COME EAT BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND.”

He chuckled under his breath. It had been so long since Papyrus had been like this. The last time had probably been when he was promoted to his current position. Sans wasn’t going to push his luck right now though. “sure thing boss.”

Rations had been getting better too. His brother had finally been able to acquire his favorite dish, and since then Papyrus had been cooking himself spaghetti almost every night. Not that Sans was complaining, getting to eat every night was nice. Maybe tomorrow he’d stop by Grillby’s for a drink. It had been awhile since he’d bugged that uptight fire elemental. Things were finally looking up.


	12. Protest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry everyone. My depression got really bad these past few weeks and I could not get this story going no matter how much I tried. I love all of you who are sticking around for this <3

He liked days that started like this one. Papyrus woke up at dawn, had breakfast, and was out checking the perimeter fence before most monsters had stirred from their slumber. He preferred establishing his presence before any trouble could be caused.

He had been on a normal patrol when a sound caught his attention. It didn’t take Papyrus long to find the ones causing it. Humans were grouped together near the gate holding signs and yelling things that were, at present, incomprehensible to him. Heavy boots took him closer to the ruckus and he could finally hear what was being said. ‘Get out.’ ‘Go back underground.’ ‘Filthy underlings.’

Underlings? Monsters were just as sentient as humans, they were not inferior. If anything, monsters had earned the right to live here. What had humans done to deserve the surface other than taking advantage of species deemed lesser in status?

Papyrus closed his eye sockets and suppressed his anger. He needed to inform Undyne of the situation. No actions should be taken until the captain declared her orders. He pulled out his phone and tapped in a quick text. It was informal, but it was the fastest way to brief her on the situation.

Now he needed to get a better look at what was taking place. Eye sockets took in the sight as he reached the fence. It was better not to say or do anything yet, but gathering information would be useful. The humans seemed to hiss and spit with their words as if each one was dripping in venom. But none of them were armed, and, even if there were enough to overwhelm him, they would never stand a chance once inside the perimeter. What were they trying to prove? Did they really think shouting insults would weaken him?

He continued to pace along the fence taking note of each individual human and analyzing their potential strengths and weaknesses. They did not appear to be warriors fit for combat. Not a single one was clad in armor or any protective articles. But he recalled stories told by monsters who'd survived the war. Stories that described armorless humans with hidden blades. Their intention was strong enough to kill some of the strongest monsters. A human needing only to have a strong desire to kill to be effective?...they were just stories.

A short time later he heard the familiar boots of his captain. Turning to make his way toward her he saw monsters had begun peeking out of their homes to see for themselves what was happening. Few were willing to venture further than their front steps. But it was the pair his captain was approaching that puzzled him. Who had summoned Alphys, and why was his good-for-nothing brother here?

\----------

Sleeping through the night was a rarity for Sans. Yet here he was, greeted by the morning with no recollection of dreams or waking up in the dark. He wasn’t sure if he could say he felt rested, he’s not sure if he had anything to compare it to, but he actually felt like getting up and that was different.

Sans reached for his phone on the floor next to his mattress. It was just after nine, not bad for waking up without a kick to the ribs. Getting up, he got himself dressed and grabbed his usual additions. Ensuring his ID card was in the breast pocket of his jacket he made his way downstairs to find Papyrus was already gone. Still feeling satiated from dinner last night, Sans figured he’d head out now rather than hang around the house.

Being out on the street was less anxiety-inducing than it used to be. For the first time in memory he didn’t feel like he was going to be attacked. No fear of being used as leverage to get to Papyrus, no one hunting him, nothing trying to bend or break him. He could walk from one place to another and really look at his surroundings. Right now he found himself staring at the sky while his feet took the familiar path toward the shop, but getting closer a strange sound caught his attention.

The gate came into view and with it the source of the noise. Dozens of humans were gathered outside the fence. They seemed to be yelling and a few were holding signs. He squinted in an attempt to read them but motion on his side of the fence distracted him.

Panic tried to take over until he realized who the movement was: his brother. He raised a browbone and eye lights followed Papyrus as the taller skeleton paced the fence. Sans gave a sigh and dragged himself over to a familiar lab coat hovering nearby.

“what’s all this about?” He gestured to the crowd before them.

Alphys jerked away before relaxing as she realized who it was that was standing next to her. “We don’t know. They showed up a short time ago. I just got here and I’m not actually sure why I was called.” She fidgeted with her claws before looking up to see the captain of the Royal Guard arrive.

“well this should be fun.” He turned to see his brother approach as Undyne reached them.

“WHY IS THE ROYAL SCIENTIST HERE?” It sounded more like a genuine question rather than annoyance from the taller skeleton.

“I called for her; I want her insight on dealing with this. Why is he here?”

He knew Undyne was pointing at him and rather than give Papyrus time to answer he figured he should chime in. “i was wandering around and saw my pal standing around looking confused.” He gave a mock punch to Alphys’ shoulder and was rewarded with a glare from the lizard-monster and a scoff from his brother.

“Whatever,” Undyne turned back to the guardsman. “I’ve gotten word that this is not an isolated incident. There are groups of humans at city hall, various businesses, and here. They all seem to be anti-monster and they want their government to notice them.”

Sans looked over, curious to see how his brother would take this information. “HUMANS HAVE AN ODD WAY OF WANTING TO BE NOTICED. IS THERE ANY REASON WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED?” He rolled his eye lights and brought a palm up to his face. Leave it to Papyrus to pass this off as a simple annoyance. Humans are practically banging on their door and he’s wondering if they ‘should be concerned?’

“At the moment? No. They seem to be just yelling. But until further notice, no monster is to leave the neighborhood.” Undyne didn’t even seem phased by having to make this decision.

“what?!” No, what the hell? They’re not concerned by these humans but they’re willing to bar entry and exit from the neighborhood?

“BE QUIET.” Sans closed his eye sockets and shrank only a fraction at his brother’s warning. “I WILL ENSURE THE GATES ARE UNDER CONSTANT SURVEILLANCE.”

“I know you will. But I need you with me. Alphys, you’re going to figure out a way to control these humans. I don’t care how you do it, just get these humans off our doorstep and don’t give the human government a reason to side with them.” As seemed to be her way, Undyne gave her orders and turned to head back.

He could feel his brother’s gaze on him. “SANS, YOU WILL WATCH THE GATE AND NOTIFY ME OF ANY ATTEMPT BY A HUMAN TO ENTER.”

“yea boss, you got it.” Sans watched his brother follow the captain before he turned back to Alphys. “looks like i got the easy job. what the hell are you going to do?”

“I d-d-don’t know. I might know more about humans than most monsters but what exactly can I do? Unless they cross the fence we can’t take action, and if they do cross what do we do?” She was focused on the ground at her feet. “It looks like you’re on sentry duty again though.”

"i know, i’m thrilled. and i don’t even get a station to sleep at.” Bony hands buried into his jacket and found the familiar smooth metal of his blade. Lately, all the comfort he needed was found in just having it with him, but he knew being cooped up might cause his anxiety to spike again.

Alphys started toward her home. Watching, Sans found himself speaking before he even realized it. "hey, if you need any help or insight, uh..." His hand began rubbing the back of his skull, "gimme a buzz or something, ya know?"

Turning back to look at him, she raised a brow and lowered her glasses. "I don't need your pity, and you better watch yourself. You're getting soft. The humans will dust you before you even have a chance." She straightened her lab coat and pushed her glasses back into place. With a scoff she left him to face his task alone.

Eye lights found themselves drifting toward the ground. Was he going soft? Underground that was a self-inflicted death sentence, but here? Were things not changing? He looked at the humans gathered by the gate. Clearly things had not changed. Humans hated monsters, and monsters hated each other.

A scowl took over his features and his grip tightened on his switchblade. It was foolish to think the surface would bring anything but new difficulties. He settled himself against one of the buildings and prepared for a long day.


	13. Surprise Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Self harm warning for this chapter. It's in the third paragraph if you need to skip it :)

They had fallen back into the old routine. Papyrus would pound at his door at the break of day; Sans would ignore him and be rewarded with his door being kicked in and his brother yanking him out of bed. It was a strained relationship but Sans would do whatever his brother asked of him. If that meant leaning against this building and watching these humans day in and day out then so be it.

Four days had passed like this. The humans made no move to change tactics, they continued to be a presence outside the gates. The media had been quick to latch on and report the events. They were still showing up even after the first day to speak to the protesters. Papyrus frequently voiced his complaints that the news just wanted to exploit monsters for their own benefit. King Asgore had denied giving any kind of interview, opting instead to allow his staff to handle the public side of things. And true to Undyne’s word, no monster was allowed to leave and no one was granted entry. Not that humans made it a habit of visiting.

At present Sans had his right sleeve rolled up and was running his thumb over one of last night’s marks. He found he could get some small amount of relief if he continued to irritate the malleable bone. And it was the only way he could stay awake right now. The sound of the humans was nothing more than droning background noise, and it was starting to lull him to sleep.

So, when the humans’ loud chattering stopped he knew something was up. Eye lights focused in on the group and his browbones furrowed. They were looking at something at the guard shack. The glares warped from confused to curious. What could be so interesting about an old human sitting in a small box that was likely sleeping? But when his gaze drifted over to the gate he felt his anxiety spike. A human was talking to the guard, and he recognized that human. It was Daya.

He frantically rolled his sleeve back down as his thoughts began to race. What was she doing here? He didn’t have her cell number so he couldn’t send her a text and tell her to stay away, but he honestly hadn’t thought she’d be dumb enough to show up here. But she was a full grown human; she should be more than capable of taking care of herself, right? Why was he even worried? It was like his subconscious was fixated on finding a way to put him in the middle of this when he was sure nothing good could come of it. But something in the back of his mind reminded him of that first meeting, how she had just stood there while the monster yelled. Her stance had been so passive, and she had refused to fight back.

His gaze swept back to the protesters. One was on a cell phone and his dress standards reminded Sans of that human he’d tangled with at the shop. It looked like he was giving the others directions and their stares had turned predatory. Words were being exchanged, fingers were pointing, and Sans was getting a bad feeling from it all. It wasn’t clear what these humans were going to do, but he felt confident if they knew she associated with any monster it was going to be dangerous for her. Some of the protesters had dropped their signs and a few were advancing. Damn, this was going to turn ugly if he didn’t get her out of there. Shit, why did he find himself in these situations?

Sans paused, he had to think. If he was going to do something stupid he needed to be sure he knew what he was doing. He couldn’t get her to the other side of the fence through the gate, but he couldn’t let anyone see him use his short cuts either. He needed to be clever about this. Eye lights dilated as his grin spread. Hopefully this worked.

The guard was exiting his station as Sans approached, at least he wasn’t ignoring the whole thing. “Sans, this girl was just asking about you. Why is a nice girl like this asking about a monster? If I didn’t know better I’d say she was coming to visit. I knew you didn’t have a mean bone in your body.” The guard paused as his eyes lit up, “Ha! I’m almost as funny as you!”

This guy was old, but he never treated any of them wrong. Sans almost felt bad for what he was about to do. “walter, right? what the hell man? you just going to let these delinquents walk up and take charge?” He pointed at the small group that had split off from the protesters and were making their way toward them.

“Oh shoot, these hooligans trying to stir up trouble again. Give me a minute to see if I can talk to them.” Walter made his way toward the group and Sans snatched his opportunity. Grasping Daya’s wrist he pulled her behind the guard shack and ducked down, pulling her into a crouch.

“what the fuck are you doing here?!”

“I was worried about you. I saw what was happening on the news and you stopped coming to the store...” Her eyes drifted to the ground as she began rubbing her arm.

He threw his face into his palms and dug the tips of his phalanges into his skull as he groaned. “you’re gonna get us both killed.”

“Killed? Sans these are just protesters, they’re not going to kill anyone.”

His fingers split revealing his eye sockets before dropping his hands. “why aren’t you working, how the heck did your dad give you time off to come dawdle around here?”

Daya’s face scrunched up with worry, “Father had to close the store for a few days until this blows over. Someone broke the windows and spray painted hateful things on the sidewalk.”

“are you joking? we need to get away from here. they already know you’re a monster sympathizer, there’s no way they’ll let you safely pass. can’t you just go home?”

“You don’t think they’ll follow me, do you?” She tried to peek around the corner

“shit, ugh!” The noises he was making were almost animalistic, but it was the only way he could vent his current frustration. “okay, i need to get you away from here, and the only place they can’t get to you is in the neighborhood. give me your hand.”

“You’re going to ask this time instead of yanking my arm?” A small twitch of a grin peeked at the corner of her mouth.”

“no, i’m going to demand it.” He put his palm out as his eye lights bore into her. That was enough to banish her smile, but she trustingly placed her hand in his. “close your eyes.”

“Why?” Her brows furrowed in worry.

“just do it!” Stars! She was being insufferable! But her eyes snapped shut in time for his eye lights to disappear. With a pop they were back on the ground a considerable distance from where the gate was and well hidden behind one of the rows of homes. 

“What?” She coughed and sputtered as words tried to find a way through what had to be nausea. “What was that?”

Sans let go of her hand and scooted away before getting up, unsure if she was actually going to be sick or if her body was just reacting poorly to the sudden displacement. “that was, uh, one of my shortcuts.” The red and yellow ring in his left eye faded as his normal white eye lights returned. “i don’t really know what you want me to do right now, it just sorta seemed like the best idea at the time.”

Daya was kneeling now, her hands on the grass holding her up, “I think I just need to sit down, or maybe lie down. I’m not feeling all that well.”

“shit, yea, okay. um,” he was clearly panicking now. What was he suppose to do with a human? Monsters already didn’t want them in the neighborhood, and Undyne had forbidden it. But for right now he just needed to get her out of the open so his place was probably the best choice. “here, follow me. we’ll go back to my place.”

“Are you sure?” Was she trying to be polite? Who was she trying to kid, now was not the time for pleasantries.

“listen, i need to get you hidden and you’re in no state to defend yourself, so yes i’m sure.”

“Okay, just give me a moment to get up.”

Sans let out a sigh and closed his eye sockets before offering her a hand. Feeling her grab hold, he hoisted her up before letting go and opening his eyes. She was looking at him strangely; her eyes were hiding some emotion, pity perhaps. “don’t look at me like that. come on, we’ll have some time before papyrus gets home and i have to figure out somewhere else to hide you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and slumped his shoulders as he started toward the row that included his residence.

“Papyrus, that’s your brother right? Why don’t I get to meet him?” She took off after him and attempted to keep up with his determined pace.

He scoffed, “are you kidding? humans are forbidden from the neighborhood. i’d be willing to bet you’re the first one to really enter, and at a time when you’re barred is going to stir up attention. papyrus is part of the royal guard, it’s his job to report everything to the captain, especially things that go directly against her orders.”

“So then why are you hiding me? Isn’t that your job too?”

“whether it is or isn’t, i don’t enjoy working. so, every chance i get to skip out on sentry duty is a chance i take.” A wicked grin emerged as he spoke; he had missed the thrill of playing hooky. 

Daya didn’t get the chance to answer, Sans stopped at the end of the row pulling his keys out to unlock the door. Holding the screen door open, he pushed the front door to reveal the inside and gestured for her to enter. “welcome to my home sweet home, dollface.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know updates have been super slow, and for that I am sorry. Life has been happening, it's funny like that.


	14. fidus Achates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans decides to hide Daya in the only place he can think of, his brother's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I'm alive! Enjoy an update. I'm going to see if I can keep to a two-week schedule now. No promises though :(
> 
> Thank you to those who left kudos! Especially those two who were recent, you all keep me going <3

Daya’s gaze swept the room and she paused, afraid to enter any further. Sans let the screen door slam behind him before flicking the light switch and locking the front door. She was visibly jarred by the sudden change and he huffed in amusement.

“you can sit on the couch if you want, or lie down i s’pose,” he shrugged, “no skin off my bones.” A soft chuckle came from her direction and he watched her take in the new environment.

“I’m feeling better, thank you. I think the walk helped.” Tentatively lowering her still weakened frame onto the couch, she watched him throw his keys on the side table and plop onto his usual spot to the far left. She bit her lip before asking, “Why do you keep it so dark in here? I would think someone who hasn’t experienced the sun their whole lives would enjoy at least a little natural light.”

Eye sockets narrowed in mock annoyance before he laughed, “so you’re telling me you think after pulling someone out of a hole they’re going to want to bask in glaringly overwhelming light coming from the sky?”

“I suppose that’s a good point, I never thought about it that way,” her forehead wrinkled in thought. Stars, he was going to be stuck babysitting her AND answering questions; what had he gotten himself into?

“of course you didn’t, you’ve always been on the surface. humans don’t dream of being underground, locked away from the world. you didn’t know any different.” He spoke so matter-of-factly that it didn’t seem any more than a statement to him. Sans looked up to see her studying him. “what?”

“I know not all the monsters are truly free, that only a small percentage of you are actually on the surface...but are you happy here?”

He shrugged, “i’m alive. who cares if i’m happy.”

Daya’s brows furrowed, and it seemed like that was going to be a permanent look she’d be giving him. The skeleton sighed, feeling his shoulders sag with it. “listen sweetcheeks, i don’t know how human society works, but where i come from monsters were just trying to survive. we lived day to day hoping to avoid the attention of anyone stronger than ourselves. Weak monsters fled and the stronger ones had to make sure no one threatened to test their strength. we lived by the code of ‘kill or be killed’ every minute of our miserable lives. most of us soldiered on with just the hope that one day we would see the surface, some dream that turned out to be.”

A half-hearted chuckled escaped him. “maybe the monsters still stuck underground have it better. ignorance is bliss right?” Arms folded back behind his head he leaned his back over the armrest, rewarding himself with the sound of his spine comfortably popping back into place.

A puzzled look took over her previous gaze of concentration as she stared. “How? How can you pop your back without synovial fluid?”

Immediately he doubled over laughing, “are you kidding me? there are humanoid cats and sentient robots and you’re worried about the specific biology of a skeleton monster popping joints?”

“Well,” she brushed a loose strand of hair back behind her ear, “you’re the closest thing I’ve seen to a human, I thought you’d be pretty similar.”

“i’m a thing now?” His brow bone raised in question. If she was going to keep asking questions he was going to make sure he gave her a hard time.

“I...no...I mean...” An exasperated sigh was all she could muster as he watched her collect her thoughts. Concern was clearly painted across her features, “Sans, why are you like this? Why are you so angry?”

The mischievous grin faltered and sharp eye lights searched her face for a sign that this was just another silly innocent question. “don’t know what you mean sweetheart.” White dots searched the room for something, anything to fixate on while he rebuilt his cracked façade.

“Sans, I’ve seen you. You act like you’re tough, like nothing can get to you. But when you first came to the shop you were skittish. It’s like you were afraid something could grab you from around every corner. What is it you’re so afraid of? You stood up to that monster for me but refuse to stand up for yourself. You deserve so much more. You’re free, shouldn’t you be happy?” Her voice was pleading and desperate.

He couldn’t hold it back any longer. It was like some spring that had been coiled to its breaking point had just let loose. “happy?! oh yea, growing up in a pit of hell, coming to the surface only to be tossed into a cage, i’m ecstatic about how things have turned out!” Fists began clenching and fidgeting. This was not a reason to be getting worked up but somehow she’d struck a chord.

“I can’t begin to understand what you’ve been through, but help me try.” The shadow of her figure moved closer until she was sitting next to him, causing his left eye to flare out of instinct and he backed into the armrest. Too many years of self-preservation meant he never let his guard down around anyone. The lone red and yellow iris honed in on the human across the couch. Her hands were up in surrender.

“why are you so interested? you grill me for questions when I would come to the shop, you risk your safety coming here, now you're on enemy territory and you're asking about me like you know me. what is wrong with you?”

Slowly lowering her hands, her gaze was worriedly fixed on his eye. “You're my friend Sans, I care about you.”

“monsters don't have friends,” he spat, glowing iris rolling in his socket. How dumb was this human? Who risks their well-being for someone else?

“I think you're my friend. And I think you feel the same way, you just don't know what to call it.” The corner of her mouth twitched in the slightest smile before she looked away. “Father said monsters are capable of more than just the violence they portray. He believes they can have compassion; and honestly, I believe it too. I think you're kinder than you act Sans.”

“you’re the first human on monster land and suddenly you’re an expert on our behavior. you don’t know shit about us; you don’t know shit about me.” The flare in his skull went out in defeat as his hands covered his face. “i’m not some charity case that needs your pity.”

He tensed but didn’t jerk away when her hands came up to pull his away. White eye lights scanned her face for any kind of emotion he was accustomed to, but nothing looked familiar. Her expression was soft with a slight smile. She still had each of his hands in hers as they were lowered into his knees before releasing her hold on him. His gaze lowered to her hands before looking at his own imperfect phalanges.

The clock on the wall gave a soft chime as it struck on the hour. Sans’ eye lights doubled in size and his panic returned full force. “Oh fuck! I have to get you out of here, he’s...you can’t be here...”

The screen door hadn’t made a noise, but the click of a lock was all Sans needed to hear. Papyrus was home.


	15. New Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! I guess my resolution would be to keep on schedule, so far so good! Please enjoy this chapter, I'm actually quite fond of it :3

He was taller than she’d expected. Daya wasn’t really sure what she expected, but all her time spent with Sans hadn’t prepared her for the sight that now greeted them at the door. Sans was up and halfway to the door before it was even done opening, terror clearly a driving force behind his motions. The shorter skeleton froze a few feet from the entrance; sweat beading on his skull. “hey boss,” his voice was meek and submissive. She had never heard him speak like that.

An imposing figure stepped through the threshold, not bothering to close the door. Black armor covered his chest complemented by black pants that rode low on his hips. His spine was clearly visible in addition to the stark white of his hipbones; where vital organs would be exposed there was nothing but the shock of space. Accenting the midnight black were crimson gloves, boots, and a scarf that seemed to hang down his back like a cape. But it was his eyes that had her attention, or perhaps one would say the lack there of. While she had grown accustomed to the warm white lights in Sans’ eye sockets, this individual had no such familiarity. There was absolute darkness in his gaze, and it sent a chill through her. That instinct of dread doubling when she saw the yawning crack running down through his left eye socket; this must have been an old wound if he was able to ignore it so easily.

The skeleton she could only assume to be Papyrus glared around the room before his stare fixed on her. “I RECEIVED INFORMATION THAT A HUMAN WAS SEEN CROSSING ONTO MONSTER TERRITORY ESCORTED BY AN EASILY IDENTIFIABLE MONSTER.” His skull snapped back to Sans, “WHY ARE YOU HARBORING A HUMAN IN MY HOME?”

“listen, boss, i can explain...” Boss? These two were brothers weren’t they?

Sans’ hands were up in a placating gesture. “the humans, they...i had to do something...she...” Sans’ hands were gesturing wildly as he tried to form even one cohesive sentence.

“The protesters, they don’t like my family. Sans got me away from danger.” Daya made to get up but was halted when a long glowing stick was pointed in her direction. No, not a stick. It was a red bone, sharpened at the end like an ice pick.

“YOU WILL SPEAK WHEN YOU ARE ADDRESSED HUMAN. YOU ARE IN MY DOMAIN AND AS SUCH WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITY!”

She took in the sight of the weapon before sitting back down. This clearly was not a monster to cross. She felt something twinge in her chest. Was that what monsters referred to as the soul? Sans had only briefly told her about monster and human souls, and really all she knew was that monster souls were different, weaker than human souls.

The tall skeleton had shouldered his weapon, but his piercing gaze was still fixed on her. “HUMANS ARE BARRED FROM ENTERING MONSTER TERRITORY, AS SUCH IT FALLS TO ME TO ENSURE IT DOESN’T HAPPEN AGAIN.”

Panic seeped into her chest, “You wouldn’t kill me, I know monsters are better than that. And the authorities would come looking for me. I...” 

Daya was abruptly interrupted by a cackle of laughter. “NYEH HEH HEH! YOU HUMANS ARE PATHETIC; BEGGING FOR YOUR LIVES AT EVEN THE SLIGHTEST HINT OF DANGER. OF COURSE KILLING YOU WOULD NOT BE IN MY BEST INTEREST, BUT THE AGREEMENTS SAY NOTHING ABOUT MAIMING. THEREFORE I BELIEVE IT IS TIME YOU SEE WHAT MONSTERS ARE REALLY LIKE.

She hadn’t looked him in the eyes as he addressed her, but glancing up now she was greeted with a scowl that made her blood run cold. But what made her heart skip a beat were the twin orbs of red that had appeared in his eye sockets. They were fixed on her and radiated with hatred.

She didn’t want to fight, she’d never been in a fight in her life, but Daya could feel her options dwindling. Chancing a look at the only other one there, perhaps Sans would help. He had to. Just because this was his brother didn’t mean he would allow such violence right? He hadn’t moved, locked in his position by the door. It looked as if he was trying to fold into himself and disappear, sweat dripping from his skull and the lights that served as pupils smaller than she’d ever seen. He wasn’t even looking in their direction. Maybe he really didn’t care.

“Please,” snapping her attention back to the looming figure before her, “we can talk about this. I meant no harm. I would never intrude or trespass. This is all just a big misunderstanding.” She put her hands up hoping to calm him, but instead she saw his body tense at her movement.

“NO, I’M DONE TALKING. THE WORD OF HUMANS IS LIKE VENOM. YOU TRY AND TALK US DOWN, TRY TO CONVINCE US THAT WHAT YOU’VE GIVEN IS A GOOD THING, THAT WE SHOULD BE IN YOUR DEBT. YOU OWE US CENTURIES OF OUR LIVES. AND I’M GOING TO START TAKING THAT TIME BACK ONE HUMAN AT A TIME.”

The long bone swung from its perch on his shoulder to connect with her arm, the force throwing her to the ground. Pain radiated up her shoulder and down her fingertips, burning, bringing her to tears. Trying to pull herself up she could only get as far as folding her legs under herself and cradling her left arm in her right. Her head almost touched her knees, tucking the injured appendage away, hiding it. He couldn’t see her cry; she refused to give him that satisfaction. 

Daring to take a peek, the glowing weapon was hoisted above his skull; he was going to finish her off, this was it. Her father had always told her if she could see she was about to be in a car crash she needed to relax her muscles and do her best to go limp, it would make the damage less severe. Doing her best to heed his advice she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled trying to will the tension out of her body.

But rather than feel the blow along her back, she was assaulted with the smell of ozone in her nose and the crackle of what sounded like electricity filled the air.

“i’m sorry boss.”

Turning her head Daya was shocked to find Sans standing between them. What looked to be a red femur bone was held between his hands and above his skull. There were sparks shooting from where Papyrus’ weapon was driving down into it.

“YOU INSOLENT WHELP!”

Time felt like it went into overdrive. The taller skeleton moving to strike the same as he had done to her but finding his attack blocked again. Rather than try once more, a second long bone was summoned and both were flying at the shorter combatant like a crashing pair of cymbals. Twin walls appeared on either side of Sans and the long weapons shattered on impact. The walls were glistening red and slatted almost like fencing, but that wasn’t wood, were those...bones? Daya felt her breath hitch. 

Another wall came rumbling into existence in front of them and lurched forward, pushing Papyrus away. Objects began flying at them, small, like the size of a screwdriver, most splintering on the barrier. The walls dissipated, replaced by single elephantine bones summoned from the ground to match each aerial projection and vanishing on impact. Sans’ skull was dripping with sweat and his hands were directing the shields like one would direct an orchestra.

All the while dark armor crept closer and closer. She had to say something, had to warn him, did he see the bone tucked close to the black pants of their aggressor? But before her lips could even part, Papyrus’ arm swung up and connected with Sans’ cheekbone. All the buzzing and popping in the air ceased as Sans was thrown on his side. Daya’s brain was finally able to catch up with what was happening but her body still wouldn’t move.

Papyrus approached the fallen skeleton swooping down and fisting the fabric of Sans’ shirt before hefting him off the ground. She could see the smaller brother’s hands come up to the collar of his shirt but couldn’t see what damage had been done to her friend.

“I BETTER NOT SEE YOU ANYWHERE NEAR MY PROPERTY, AND IF YOU DARE STEP FOOT IN HERE I’LL MAKE SURE YOU NEVER MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN.”

Sans landed in a crumpled heap next to her, his right hand covering part of his face. “come on sweetheart, we gotta get out of here.” This time the hand offered to her was trembling, it almost made her afraid she’d break him if she took it. But she allowed him to help her up, returning the hand to its previous task of cradling her injured arm.

Now empty eye sockets glared as the two dragged themselves to the door. Only when the screen door was secured behind them did she dare look at her companion. His sockets were also devoid of the familiar lights, and he refused to look at her. Daya reached up with her good hand to remove his phalanges from what could only be a wound but found her hand quickly covering her mouth to stifle a gasp.

“Sans, your face!” The entire bone of his right cheek was covered in a spider web of fractures, some were small enough that they had fallen out leaving the whole zygomatic bone to crumble.

“yea, it hurts like a bitch. listen, i gotta get you outta here. i have to use another shortcut, after that you need to just get the fuck home. don’t let anyone stop you. promise?” His voice was shaking in tandem with his hands.

“Only if you promise to get help for that, there must be some kind of monster medicine to help you.”

He chuckled, causing more of the bone to float away, like ash from a fireplace. “yea, okay. i’ll go see a healer. now let’s get you away from this hellhole.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually the end of what I deem Act I. Act II will involve Sans among humans, so perhaps you lovely readers could help me out. What would be some interesting experiences for a monster fresh in the human world? It can be something as simple as visiting a grocery store or elaborate as a freaking rock concert! All ideas are appreciated.
> 
> And once again I want to express my gratitude to all of you. For sticking with me and hopefully enjoying yourself. You're like a bunch of friends to me, all packed into the van for a crazy road trip that is this story :3


	16. Healing Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you can forgive me, this has not been proofed and was written under the clouded influence of alcohol. I'll get the proofed chapter up in a day or so, but I wanted this posted on time. Trying to stick to my New Year's resolution of getting chapters out on schedule. Thanks again for sticking around!
> 
> EDIT: And a week later it's been proofed, lol. For once the editors have been adding commas instead of removing them :O I must be loosing my touch as a comma enthusiast.

The shortcut had depleted more of his magic reserves than he was comfortable with, but he had been left with no other choice. He couldn’t risk anyone seeing them; he had no more energy to fight. He watched as the human who had caused him so much trouble retreated from the fence line before turning his back to her.

Sans had given up on covering his wound, conceding to the loss of the bone that made up his right cheek. A sigh escaped between his teeth and the edge of his vision was tickled with the sight of yet more dust fluttering away. He had promised to get the damage looked at, and Sans was never one to go back on a promise. So he supposed that was his next stop. As much as he could use a drink after the whole fiasco, it was never a good idea to show up anywhere with an injury. The dogs were sure to be at Grillby’s at this hour; he knew they weren’t going to throw him a bone and he sure as heck wasn’t willing to give up one of his.

Not wanting to risk loss of consciousness from magic over exertion he began the trek to the only known healer in the neighborhood. Pulling his hood up, he hoped it was enough to cover the new void in his face and discourage any unwanted attention. The last thing his frayed nerves needed was another confrontation.

He found his attention pulled to the last peeking rays of sun as it disappeared. Eye lights fixating on the orb he almost felt a sense of calm wash over his thoughts. It was short-lived, but it was enough to brush away his anxiety a fraction. Shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, he let his mind wander on the past hour’s events as his sneakers led the way.

The journey lasted half an hour but already his bones ached. Reaching the old hag’s door, he gave it a knock that was gentler than he intended. He was tired, energy being sapped as his body tried to deal with the gaping wound in his face. The entrance was pried open by green feathers revealing the tall avian monster.

“Who’d you piss off this time?” the almost singing voice inquired.

A forced laugh rumbled from his chest. “mind your own fuckin’ business.” 

Brushing past her into the small parlor entrance, he threw himself into the chair at the center. It wasn’t anything special for sure; it was just like any other monster trying to run a business out of their home. The wooden seat was surrounded by sterile-looking walls and a smooth linoleum floor, likely chosen for the ease of cleaning.

Her pupils followed his movement and she crossed her wings over her chest. “I don’t know what kind of business you think I’m running, but I don’t take charity cases like yourself.” The monster didn’t seem angry, but slightly put off. She had formerly been healer to the Royal Guard, and as a result was required to move to the surface with them. But as with any trade skill, supply and demand had to be taken into account. With the guard now having to ‘pull their punches,’ so to speak, and therefore no longer receiving injuries, the healer found herself turning to the more common results of turf disputes and bar fights to pay the bills.

He tossed a small coin purse at her. The startled way she caught it told him she hadn’t been expecting him to pay. Sans was not in the mood to beg, and it was worth paying if it meant he could get out of here faster. He studied her face as she counted the gold now poured out into her flight feathers.

“You know this isn’t enough,” she lectured as a smirk crept across her features.

A groan hissed between his teeth, “you’re already bleeding me dry, what more do you want? just do whatever that much will pay for.” Frustration was threatening to show itself so he focused on just breathing knowing that if she did take his payment the next part was no walk in the park.

Pocketing the gold, the bird monster sauntered closer and inspected the injury. She hummed at him like a mother preparing to scold a child. It’s likely she got some sick satisfaction of degrading the poorer monsters that made up her clientele.

“The most I can do is force your magic to replace the bone, but it will be cracked and pliable.” The tune-like words were too close for comfort and he could feel his anxiety building.

“whatever. i need this gap like i need a hole in the head.” A grin pulled at his face at the unintentional joke.

She sighed and lifted her arms toward him. Sans couldn’t hold back the instinctive flinch but did his best to still himself. He hissed as green magic began to emanate from her vestigial wings and make contact with the damaged area. It was such a rare kind of magic. Kindness, the primary trait of green magic, was severely lacking in the underground and most monsters born with it found themselves dusted before reaching adulthood. Somehow a few monsters were lucky, likely due to protection from a stronger monster that had either claimed them as their own or possibly family that still survived.

It was strange to think about how the captain of the Royal Guard was also a monster with green magic. A confrontation with her caused the opponent to be automatically given a shield to block attacks. As such Undyne had been forced to become even stronger than the average monster. But one would never think of her as kind, her reputation painted her as fearsome.

Another jolt of pain brought him back to the present and he had to hold himself back from lashing out. Eye lights searched the healer’s face for a sign of how it was going when she stepped back and placed her wings on her hips. “That’s as good as it’s going to get. And you should be grateful I did that much.”

Feet found purchase on the floor and Sans stood up before bringing a hand to what had previously been a hole in his cheek. The zygomatic bone had returned but it was soft and probably had a spider web of cracks all over it. Attention snapped back to the monster near him as she spoke, “Now, get out of my home before I charge you for loitering.” Large wings guided his frame back to the door and out onto the stoop.

“alright alright. geez lady no need to get pushy. it’s not like _‘feather’_ i stay or not will matter.” The groan that followed was all the reward he needed as she shut the door on him.

Once again tense phalanges found their home in soft leather pockets. Night had settled and back underground that was a dangerous time. Even with new rules on the surface, the darkness still caused monsters to flee. So it was time to find some sort of cover.

Sans couldn’t return home, his brother had forbade it. So he collected his magic and took a final shortcut for the night. The sidewalk he appeared on was nothing special to the common passerby, but to him it was the biggest risk he’d ever taken. He glanced over his shoulder to the high fence of the neighborhood, a sight he’d never seen except during the day.

With no destination in mind, sneakers wandered aimless among the streets of humans.


	17. Out with the Trash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day late but it's here! I'm sorry about that y'all. I'm also sorry the plot seems to be moving so slow. I promise I have fun things planned <3

Muscle memory is described as one’s body reproducing a specific movement without having to think about it, usually the result of having done said movement so many times. Things like riding a bike, knowing the keys on a keyboard, and even a simple act like walking. So it really shouldn’t have surprised Sans when he showed up at the shop. He had taken the path so many times it became second nature. Leave the neighborhood, find reprieve at the shop, return to the neighborhood, and face the wrath of his brother.

He stood there staring at the dark windows, the neon ‘Open’ sign sleeping along with the rest of the city. He knew it would be closed, but his feet had still lead the way to the one place of comfort. The one place he could let go, be himself, act like he used to before. A shudder trembled through his bones. It wasn’t due to the cold; it was the middle of summer so even the nights were warm.

Eye lights took in the darkness around him. He needed to rest. Monster food was really the best way to regain spent magic and speed up healing, but that was beyond his reach now. Rest was his next best option and one he was prone to indulging. Noticing the alley he had ducked into the first time he had to come here alone, he figured that was as good a place as any.

He supposed the space was wide enough for a small car. He didn’t like how it was open on either end. A large dumpster sat outside what he could only assume was a backdoor into the shop. Trying the handle he found it was locked, of course. He had hoped that on a whim maybe they had left it open, but Sans had never really been a lucky guy.

He leaned against the wall between the door and the dumpster. A quivering sigh escaped as his exhausted bones slid to the ground. Knees pulled up and face in his hands, his walled off emotions finally came free. There was no crying underground, but this wasn’t underground and he was so sick of it all. Red droplets fell, the same color as his warped magic. Fitting, it was also the same color as spilled human blood; the loss of both associated with pain. He made no noise, something only years of conditioning could yield.

There was nothing now. No place to stay, nothing but the clothes he wore; even his only family had cast him out. Pulling his phalanges away from his tear-stained face, he let his shoulders sag and shoved them in his pockets. Eye sockets widened in realization. Running his fingers over the smooth surface of his switchblade he considered his options. It only took a moment of deliberation. He was tired, too tired even for that. He wrapped his hand around the knife desperately holding on to the only thing he had left as exhaustion embraced him.

Sleep came in fitful bursts. Sans couldn’t keep count the number of times he’d startled himself awake. Sometimes it was a foreign noise, other times it was a nightmare assaulting him. Eye lights had watched the sun rise from his little corner, not daring to move and risk being seen. He was sure his brother wouldn’t report him missing and there was no record of him leaving the neighborhood, but that was still no reason to take the chance. So here he was in the back alley dozing off again, because what else was there to do now. Sleep was the preferred option.

“Sans?!” The exclamation partnered with the thud of a garbage bag was enough to cause the dead to rise. Startling awake, sockets shot open and eye lights faded into existence. It hadn’t been enough to cause his magic to flare up, but he was clutching the front of his shirt as his soul pounded in his chest.

Quickened breaths shifted to something more akin to normal breathing. The familiar human before him had her hands up trying to calm him. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you, but what are you doing here?” Daya looked just as shaken up as he felt.

“well, my brother threw me out. so i figured i’d hang out with the rest of the trash,” he huffed. Letting out a groan as he made to stand up, wobbling as he regained balance. His bones were stiff from staying in the same position for so long but figured if the store was open it was worth vacating his safe spot. Daya’s hands were out like she wanted to help him up but held back probably because of everything that happened yesterday.

“Sans, did you sleep out here? All night?” Her voice was laced with concern. She was probably going to start mother henning now.

“i’ve had worse.” A shrug accompanied his words before he began rubbing his cheek; it was still soft and sore but didn’t feel too bad all things considered. Her eyes fixed on the wound and he realized the bone was likely bruised, all blotchy red and yellow. It could be that a sickly green would show up too due to the healing he received.

“Your face looks better.”

Awkward small talk was the worst and really there were few things he hated more. “this ugly mug? nah. it just has less holes in it now, heh.”

She sighed. Picking up the garbage bag and hefting it over the lip of the dumpster before turning back to him with a determined look in her eyes. “Get inside please.” There it was, he knew she was going to be the type to fuss.

The unease left him when he saw the shop was empty. It was rather nice to be able to return to his spot behind the counter. He had spent so much time there that Daya made sure not to stock anything important in that area. Lifting the counter to enter, he plopped himself into the corner and pulled out his phone. She followed behind him, replacing the counter that blocked customers.

“We really should talk Sans.”

Not bothering to look up he started his usual internet surfing with the stolen wifi. “not much to talk about sweetheart. what you saw is what monsters are really like. still think we make good company?” 

A patient smile crossed her face. “Yes, I do. And I wish you had told me you were going to be sleeping behind the shop, you scared the daylights out of me. Do you not have anywhere to go?”

He shrugged, pulling up a news site and skimming over article titles for something to distract him. The clear avoidance to the question was met with a sigh. “My shift is almost over and I’m not going to let you sleep in a gutter. The least I can do is give you a couch.”

Eye lights flicked up to try and read her face. What was her angle? “how do you expect me to pay you? i don’t have anything on me to give and i don’t need hand-outs.” The tenseness in his shoulders had returned.

“Then why don’t we make a deal? You learn as much as you can from me about human culture and I’ll let you sleep on my couch. If you do your best not to scoff at everything I’ll even make sure meals are included.” That smile was back, and it felt like a dangerous smile. Where was the shy human he had met? Since when was she this confident? 

Eye sockets narrowed and he pocketed his phone, his own grin returning with a hint of mischievousness. “i’ll take that deal. but on one condition.”

“Okay?”

Standing up, his eye lights drifted to meet her gaze, “there’s always mustard in the pantry.”

“I don’t see why that would be a problem.” She held her hand out to him, like she absolutely had to shake on it to make it legit. Sans just chuckled and gripped his fingers around hers. At least he knew where he’d be sleeping tonight.


	18. Going for a Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned into a much longer chapter than anticipated. Almost double what I normally put out. Enjoy! :D Also, welcome to what happens when a biologist writes, lol.

Daya had spent the remainder of her shift just watching the skeleton hunched in the corner playing on his phone and thinking about how little she really knew. She had only just learned what his home life was like, what else had she been ignorant to? It never occurred to her how monsters were different, she just knew they were. People spoke of their violent nature and tended to steer clear of them rather than learn. Sans had been the only monster to open up to her. Sure, she had asked him all sorts of questions, but had she really learned anything about their culture?

Her co-worker, an older woman, arrived right on time to take over for the evening. It was only three in the afternoon and thankfully her six-hour shift was all she had planned to do today, she had a feeling giving Sans a place to stay was going to be a handful. The woman chuckled when she spotted the monster, having long since passed the point of being surprised to see him when Daya was on shift.

Signaling Sans to follow her, Daya kept her good-bye short this time and waved to her co-worker before setting out to her vehicle behind the shop. His silence was worrisome but nothing she hadn’t dealt with before. However, the shocked look on his face when she unlocked her car door was new. The skeleton had frozen in place and the lights in his eyes were gone, giving him quite the eerie look.

“Sans? Have you ever been in a car before?” concern laced her voice.

The white points in his sockets returned and drifted to her before focusing on the car again. “no...”

Making her way back over to him she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Alright, well we can do this, don’t worry. We can take it one step at a time, and it’s a short trip back to my apartment.” Eye lights flicked back to her as she opened the passenger side door for him. The monster slid in without issue and she closed the door before settling into the driver’s side. Turning the key brought the engine to life and inadvertently also resulted in a flash of color from her friend. She could see the ring of red and yellow flaring in his left eye.

“It’s okay Sans, just roll down the window, maybe some fresh air will help you calm down?”

His skull slowly turned toward her and his white pupils returned before raising a brow bone. “i’m sorry, what?”

“The little button on the side of the door, if you push it the window goes down and if you pull it up the window goes back up.” Her hand gestured to the single button on his door as opposed to the several on her own.

“and the rolling part is involved where?” Already his phalanges were toying with the button, causing the window to repeatedly move up and down.

“Oh, that’s just an old saying. You used to have to hand crank the windows to open or close them.”

“so why wouldn’t you say ‘crank’ the window?” That familiar grin was returning.

“Come to think of it, I don’t really know.”

“alright, i guess i can _roll_ with it.” That was it, that was why he was grinning. Daya put her face in her hands and groaned. At least he didn’t seem as worried as before.

Driving as slow as she could without attracting the ire of fellow drivers, she tried to focus on not having any kind of accident. The last thing she wanted was to have Sans swear off motor vehicles because of her.

About half way through the trip and all had been going well until Sans found the radio. Presently the CD player was mocking her, sticking out an old mix she had made in high school like some silly tongue and then sucking it back in before she could snatch it and stow it away. He had already scanned through all the local stations twice, not stopping more than a few seconds on each one. The level of output and direction of the air conditioner and defrost had been sufficiently altered. But as long as he was okay she wasn’t going to let it bother her. That is until she started feeling really warm.

“Oh my god Sans! Did you turn on the seat warmer?!”

“i don’t know, is that what the button over here is?” Bony hand directing near her seatbelt buckle.

“Yes!” She let a fit of giggles escape, “it’s the middle of summer! You use those in winter to stay warm.” The only response she got was a shrug. “Wait, can you feel cold and warmth? I mean, you’re always wearing that jacket even in the heat.”

He let out a guffaw, “yeah, I can feel temperature changes. don’t really bother me though.”

The car pulled into a parking lot shadowed by a plain brick building. “We’re here!” She was probably more excited than she should have been. Part of that was due to being done with Sans’ antics in the car, but additionally she hoped her positivity would keep Sans’ negativity at bay. Daya got out and locked her car as Sans followed closely behind.

“you sure you want your neighbors seeing a monster come to your place?” He was glancing over his shoulder, taking in their surroundings. Knowing him, he was probably keeping an eye out for danger.

“Everyone keeps to themselves here. I’ve never had a problem with any of my neighbors. Besides, I’m not ashamed. I invited a friend over and it shouldn’t matter if they’re monster or human.”

“heh, yea, you keep telling yourself that dollface.” His shoulders came up and his skull seemed to sink into his jacket.

Climbing the first flight of stairs, Sans was beginning to drag behind as they were halfway up the second flight. “geez, what floor do you live on? i’m not exactly an athlete.”

“I’m on the third floor. Come on, it’s not that bad, and maybe the exercise would be good for you.”

“you sound like my bro.” There was no malice in his words, but they caused her to pause. Just the thought of being compared to the violent skeleton made her queasy.

Finishing the trip up, she fidgeted with her keys while he caught up. He was audibly huffing and puffing, but to his credit he didn’t make any other comments about the climb. Unlocking the door, she pushed it open and entered. Keys and purse were set down on their end table home and she turned to check on Sans.

The monster was standing in the doorway staring at the living room. “Well, come on in. You’re letting the cold air out. I’m not going to pay to cool off the whole neighborhood, silly.” He startled slightly and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

Daya’s apartment was small but adequate. It was a simple one bedroom, one bathroom, galley kitchen and sitting area. The tile extended out enough for a small table and pair of chairs to be placed next to the kitchen, and the living room was simple enough. A couch facing a television and some small knick-knacks and paintings decorated the area. The room radiated of warm reds and soft golds. But with an easy glance, one could tell her pride and joy was her book collection. A large bookshelf practically engulfed the wall behind the couch that divided the sitting area and the bedroom.

She smiled as he drifted in the direction of her books. “You’re more than welcome to read any of these. I have a pretty varied collection. All sorts of stories from fantasy to historical fiction.”

“i bet humans have gotten real good at that ‘historical fiction’ part.” She could sense a slight bite in what he said; it was a bit sobering.

Looking down at her shoes she felt her voice come out quieter than usual, “Were you there? When humans locked monsters underground?”

The skeleton turned back to face her before deciding the couch was a better option and flopped down. “naw. that was over 400 years ago, i’m only 28. my... pops was.”

Joining him on the couch, her curiosity was getting the better of her. “I’ve never heard you talk about your parents before. What were they like?”

Hunched in on himself, he always looked so small when he did that, and his hands were fidgeting as he spoke. “i don’t really like talking about him. let’s just say the boss was supposed to be his protégé and i was the mistake. he died when i was young so i took care of paps the best i could.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about that.”

“don’t be. he was an asshole.”

The previously crestfallen look on her face was replaced with surprise, but she wasn’t going to push the subject. “So he was over 400 years old when he died? How long can monsters live?”

Sans laughed, “i just got here and you’re ready to grill me?”

“I’m sorry; I can go make an early dinner or something if you need time to yourself?” She always felt bad when she asked too many questions. Her father had taught her to ask everything that came to mind, but she had to tone it down a bit around others.

“naw, stay.” He sighed before continuing, “different kinds of monsters can live for different amounts. a moldsmal usually only lasts a few years. boss monsters, like king asgore, well they actually don’t age unless they have a child. so they theoretically could live forever i guess. me? i don’t actually know. sure my pops was a few centuries, but who knows if that was normal. i’ve never known any other skeleton monsters. my bro and i are the last i assume.”

“Wow, functionally extinct.” She started to lose herself in thought.

“what’d you call me? i’m still mostly functional, i just like to sleep a lot.” A puzzled look swept across his features.

She could only laugh, “No, it means when a species only has a few individuals left and they can’t viably breed. That makes them functionally extinct rather than just extinct.”

“right...”

“Okay, dinner. Do you have a particular taste for anything?” Steering away from the awkward pause as best as she could, she got up and headed for the kitchen.

“whatever you make is fine. shit, you don’t have to feed me. i’m fine for a few days.” Already he was sprawled across the couch and staring at the blank T.V.

“I am not going to let you starve!” How long could he go without food and still be okay? Why would he even consider it?

A grunt of acknowledgement was all she got.

By the time she was done preparing a simple meal of mac ‘n cheese she could hear soft snores coming from the couch. Perhaps it would be better to let him sleep through the night. Storing the meal for later she did her best to creep off to her own room and quietly shut the door. Tomorrow was a new day.


	19. Just Relax

It was dark. It was always dark. Like the world didn’t want him to see, just feel. But not seeing was worse. He could hear movements. Not directly, of course not, just the results. Papers shifting, a chair scraping. The thing that moved made no sound. His skull was damp and his phalanges were trembling. He tried to raise a hand and wipe away the sweat but his arms wouldn’t respond. He couldn’t move. Panic started to swell up in his chest, in his throat. He couldn’t breathe.

“pap?” It came out choked and garbled. Was that even his voice? He knew it was but it didn’t sound like himself.

There was no noise, no feeling, but he knew he wasn’t alone. And whatever it was that was with him was right near his skull. It inhaled and sound came out in a hiss, ‘ù͠s͠҉̵e̴l̴e̴͜s̢͡s,’ ‘ḑ̡i͏̀şg̡̀͟ư͢s̡͟t̷̸̨i̸͢n̶͟g͏͘͞.’ Pressure starting building on his chest, the voice was all around him, it wasn’t just around his head but inside his skull. Feeling came back full force. His ribs were creaking, bending, he was going to break. He thrashed and gripped his head, digging his sharpened phalanges into the bone.

‘S̡͠s̴̶̷s͏şa̛͝n͏s͏͞...’

‘S̡a͏҉҉n̡s...’

“Sans!”

Eye sockets flew open and his brain tried to comprehend everything around him at lightning speed. He was on a couch, there was a human standing over him and his hands were restrained. Immediately he shook her off and glowered, “shit! you trying to give me a soul stutter?!”

Daya stepped back and cradled her arms, “You were scratching yourself, I was afraid...”

“afraid of what, that I was going to damage something?” he sneered. Pushing himself up into a sitting position and swinging his legs over the side of the couch, he looked for the blanket that had apparently found a new home on the other side of the room.

She huffed, “No Sans, I was afraid you were going to really hurt yourself. And what’s a ‘soul stutter’?”

Rubbing his face to finish waking up, he paused in the middle and opened up his fingers to allow one eye light to stare at her. “really? you’re going to start this early?”

“Well, I figure you’re probably not going to tell me why you were trying to tear your skull apart. So you can at least tell me what a soul stutter is.” The corner of her mouth quirked into a smile.

He dropped his hands into his lap in defeat. She was right, he wasn’t going down the rabbit hole of trying to explain what that nightmare was. “it’s when the soul pulse that sends out the magic in our bodies stops. usually it’ll start right back up, but sometimes it results in a permanent irregular rhythm.”

“What happens if it doesn’t start back up?”

“we die.”

She looked thoughtful, “Oh, okay, I think I get it now.” She walked away without looking at him and disappeared into the bathroom. Sans craned his neck to follow, a puzzled look taking over the irritated one.

Daya reappeared with a bottle and a cotton ball. “Hold still, this is going to sting.” Upturning the bottle on the cotton ball she reached over the couch and began patting the soaked fuzz on his scratches.

“ow! shit! why would you do that!?” He tried to scramble away but she had set the bottle down and had a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

“Oh stop, you’re fine. I don’t know if monsters can get infections but I’m going to make sure you don’t.” Pulling her hands away she chuckled, “There, all better. Now go wash up and we can talk about what to do today over breakfast.”

Tilting his head back he gave her an incredulous look, “what are you, my mom? and what do you mean ‘what to do today’?”

“I have the day off,” she smiled. “I figured we’d do something on your first full day in the human world.”

“monsters have always been in this world, it’s not just yours,” he sassed back.

“Alright, yes. On your first full day on the surface and not behind a fence. There is that better?” A resigned sigh left her as she walked to the kitchen.

“heh, sure.” Getting up and popping his vertebrae back into place with a stretch he headed to the bathroom to get the dust off his phalanges.

By the time he emerged there were two bowls, a half-gallon of milk and a generic brand of cereal sitting out. Daya was already eating and looking at her phone.

“so, what do you normally do when you have a free day?” Sans sat down and poured himself a bowl. It took quite a bit of willpower to keep from just inhaling the food; it had to have been over a day since he’d eaten.

“Sometimes I like to go to the park. I just sit and watch really.” 

“...sit and watch what exactly?” he scoffed.

“Everything. The clouds, animals, people are pretty interesting. I like to just pick random people and make up stories about them.”

Stopping mid-chew he stared blankly at her before continuing to eat.

“What? Don’t tell me you never sit around and just watch the world go by.”

“well yeah, but that’s because i have to keep an eye out for anyone trying to kill me.”

She set her spoon in her empty bowl and got up to put place it in the sink. “Well that settles it. We’re going to the park. You’re going to sit and just relax. Nothing is going to try and kill us.”

“whatever you say sweetheart.” He turned his full focus back on eating. She was going to be a handful today.

By the time they had made it to the greenery in the center of the city and Daya had found her favorite spot, Sans had managed to pull a few annoyed groans from her including one due to him announcing he was going to ‘park’ it right here.

Daya was currently weaving a story about the elderly woman sitting on a bench nearby with her purse in her lap. Sans was only half listening, catching bits about being a widow, having grown children who had moved away, and how the woman dreamed of bringing her grandkids to this park. He was busy staring at a bug that had been trying to climb up a root of the tree they were resting against but continued to fall on its back. It had done this twice already and was going for a third after righting itself. Determined little fucker.

He hadn’t noticed the silence or how Daya was watching him until he suddenly felt her eyes on him. Taking his attention from the bug he turned to her direction, “what?”

“I was just thinking...”

He cut her off, “that’s dangerous.”

She sighed, looking up into the tree as she continued, “I was thinking about how monsters and humans really aren’t all that different. We both just want to live our lives in peace and enjoy the world. We both have families, jobs, goals. I mean, the only real difference is that monsters have magic and humans don’t.”

“humans have magic.” He was scraping patterns in the dirt as he spoke.

Full focus snapped to him, “I’m sorry, you can’t just drop something like that... what?”

“heh, humans have magic. it’s just so deep most can’t access it.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

He took a quick gaze around when the idea came to him, “think of it in terms of skeletons.” The quirk in her eyebrow caused a chuckle to rise from his chest. “yea, okay. so first we have to ignore the fact that i’m a monster in the shape of what could be confused for a human skeleton.”

Reaching down he placed a phalange in the path of the bug coaxing it to climb on before bringing it closer to the two of them and leaning back on the tree. “humans are like this beetle here. it’s soft and squishy on the inside but it’s got this super hard exoskeleton to protect all those important vulnerable parts. all your magic is in your soul, and your soul is completely surrounded and protected by your organic fleshy bodies.”

“I think that could be construed as the nicest thing you’ve ever said about people,” she giggled.

Eye lights rolling in their sockets he chose to ignore her and continue. “monsters, on the other hand, are like those birds over there,” the beetle flew off as he held his hand up and pointed to a flock of pigeons that had gathered around a young man, likely due to the bird seed he was tossing. “we’ve got some of that organic matter too, but it’s soft, frail and held together by our magic. our souls are made of pure magic like humans, but the magic is also flowing around us. we might seem bigger and stronger but we’re super frail.”

A somber feeling came over him, “it’s why we’re so different when we die. humans leave a complete husk when their soul leaves, but that soul is still complete with magic so it can persist. monsters... when we die, all the magic holding us together disperses leaving only dust. without that magic our souls can’t remain whole and so they shatter. i don’t know what happens to human souls, but monsters don’t even have the option of believing in a happy fairytale of an afterlife.” Bony arms rested in his lap, a defeated look taking over. He glanced over to see Daya had adopted a similar posture. Knees pulled up and chin resting on her knee caps.

“Have you ever lost anyone?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Sans’ voice caught in his throat before he squeezed the words out. “no one important. you?”

“Kind of. I was supposed to have a sister, but she died after only a couple days. My parents never told me how. I was super young when it happened, so I don’t really remember a whole lot and it doesn’t make me sad. I guess it’s hard to miss someone you never had.”

He snickered, “yea, I can relate to that.”

Suddenly Daya was on her feet and it almost looked like she was striking some sort of pose. “Well, we didn’t come out here to be depressed; we came out to have fun!” Hand reaching down to help him up, she was radiating energy.

White eye lights had blown out and had to be coaxed back into empty sockets. She really was good at scaring the daylights out of him. “yeah, alright. what did you have in mind?”

A grin stretched across her face as she helped him up. “Have you ever been to a zoo?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My significant other would like me to point out that birds are not super frail, and my counter is that if the bug is the same size as the bird then the bug is stronger ;) Also I am sorry not sorry about the next chapter. I'm a zookeeper, I HAVE to take them to the zoo!


	20. Life is a Zoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just take it! This was supposed to be a simple self-indulgent chapter and it turned into a pain in my arse @_@ So just take it, and if for some reason you enjoy it feel free to let me know. I'm going to go work on plot now to make myself feel better.

The car ride wasn’t nearly as stressful as yesterday, Sans didn’t feel the need to mess with everything to keep from focusing on the queasy feeling stirred up deep within his soul. He did however still manage to sneak pressing the seat warmer button again, startling Daya and giving him a good chuckle. Presently he found himself killing time on his phone while the human was purchasing tickets. Apparently, unlike the park, this particular outing cost money and he didn’t like the thought of owing her anything. But whatever; it was her idea to come out here, not his. Looking up from his news article he saw there were already people staring. He gave them a sneer and growled. They startled and kept on their way as Daya returned to retrieve him.

“What are you reading?” She handed him a colorful ticket with a picture of some spotted cat on it.

“nothin’. just science stuff, you’d be bored. so, how are we sneaking me into this place?” He quickly pocketed the phone and fidgeted with the small strip of paper.

She laughed, “Sans! Oh my gosh, we’re not sneaking in. You’re allowed in just like everyone else. I asked the ticket lady, she said they’ve had a couple monster visitors but not many.”

He rolled his eye lights, “great, i love being the representative to my species.”

“See, that’s what’s awesome! All the animals here are just that!” Clapping her hands together and then grabbing the sleeve of his leather jacket she pulled him up to the gate. They were through so quick he didn’t have time to notice any looks he might have gotten.

“alright, slow down dollface, the animals ain’t going anywhere.” Reclaiming his arm and brushing off his jacket he looked back to her, “so what made you so excited to come here anyways? i mean, it was sorta random.”

“Oh yea, I guess it would seem like that. My papa used to take me here when I was feeling sad. Sometimes we would just sit and watch in one spot. Seeing the animals and how they interact with each other or their home. Sometimes we’d even get to see the people who take care of them and how excited the animals get around them.” She was beaming, it reminded him of his brother when he used to talk about joining the royal guard. He felt the edge of his mouth pull into a smile.

“alright, well that makes you an expert. where to first?”

“What’s your favorite animal? We can go see that one first if they have one here.”

Bony features blanked and he stared through her, favorite animal? He’d never really thought about it. Underground you couldn’t really have a favorite anything, coveted items could be targeted. Coveted individuals would be targeted. And why waste time focusing on anything aside from getting through the day?

“uh,” he stuttered a bit, “i don’t have one i guess. you’ll have to help me pick one out. what about you?”

“I’ve always loved elephants, but this is a pretty small zoo so they don’t have any. Dad and I liked to watch all the different African animals but maybe we can start small. I know! They have an Australia section, we can go there!”

Sans just stared, that was a much longer answer than he had been expecting. “sure...”

He managed to avoid getting is sleeve grabbed again as she raced off. He was going to get a workout today wasn’t he. Shoving his hands in his pockets he started after her.

It was a short walk and they were passing through a double-gate that opened into a small grassy field with a winding walkway. The path was flanked on either side with a short rope fence. Looking around it seemed a lot like the park until he saw the various rusty colored animals.

“holy shit what are those!?” He froze in place.

Daya giggled but then saw he wasn’t joking, “Sans, it’s okay. Those are kangaroos. Red kangaroos I think. The girls are more of a gray color though. They’re like Australia’s version of deer. You know what deer are right?”

“i know what deer are, and i know what kangaroos are too, it just freaked me out. how do those ropes keep them in? couldn’t they just jump over?” He motioned along the pathway.

She paused, hoping this wouldn’t panic him more. “Well, the ropes are to keep people off the grass. The kangaroos can cross freely, and sometimes they’ll even let you touch them. But most of the time the animals keep off the path and away from people. Look!” She pointed at a vibrant red individual, “That’s the male, all of these females are his.”

“...what a... lucky guy...” He could feel the color drain from his skull, making it almost a sickly yellow. The male was huge, at least six feet tall. He would read children’s books to his brother growing up and one had a kangaroo in it that loved to punch and kick, Sans had a feeling there was a reason for that based in reality. A hand rested on his shoulder.

“Maybe we should start smaller, follow me. We’re going to walk through here, past those gates and meet some smaller animals.”

Starting forward, it was easier to follow along if he just didn’t look. They made it through the gates and up to another set of doors. Before they passed through them Daya turned to him, “Now, you have to tell me if this is too much for you, okay?”

Brow bones furrowed, “sure, whatever, i’m fine. like i said, they just spooked me because i wasn’t expecting it, i wasn’t scared.” The small smile on her face told him she didn’t buy it.

Walking in he was assaulted with color, bright blues, greens and yellows everywhere. And the noise; he had been able to hear it outside but it was so much louder inside. Birds were everywhere: on the mesh that covered the ceiling and walls, on the ground outside the path, on people!

Sans just stared taking it all in, the colors, the sound, the life! There was so much activity his mind had trouble focusing on any one thing, so a few things decided to focus on him. The moment he was inside the double doors a half dozen water bottle-sized birds were on him. The monster froze. Not in panic, he’d never admit to being panicked, he was being cautious. Don’t move and maybe you won’t be noticed.

Daya already had a hand over her mouth and was stifling any sound that tried to escape while a few other humans had curiously turned their attention to him. He closed his eye sockets in an attempt to quell the anxiety but could hardly distract himself from the things crawling on his shoulders. 

“what...the...fuck?” was all he could manage before an additional bird tried to land on his skull, feebly sliding down past his temple and catching itself on his shirt.

“Oh my god, Sans, are you okay? You do look really cool right now though, like a natural bird whisperer.” The sound of an artificial camera shutter caught his attention and he shook himself like a dog-monster. The birds scattered and he scowled. “I’m so sorry, maybe the Lorikeet Aviary wasn’t the best idea.”

“ya think?” Some of the more curious individuals had returned to his shoulders and one was uncomfortably close to his eye sockets. Eye lights flicked from the bird to Daya and back again, and apparently that was all it took to amplify the bird’s interest. A colorful streak made for the spot of white among the darkness in his skull, but before he could swat it away his flailing had discouraged any further exploration on the bird’s part.

“i’m done here.” Sans stormed through the exit, Daya close on his heels.

“I’m sorry Sans, I didn’t think the birds would be so interested in you. I usually get ignored if I don’t have a food cup or something.”

He stopped to give her a sidelong glare but both had their attention grabbed by nearby voices. “Look! They let one out of its cage.” The laughter that followed was enough to clue him in that it was him they were heckling.

Daya was visibly put-off but before she could get herself into trouble he placed a hand on her shoulder. “it’s not worth it, let’s go.” He walked away before she’d have a chance to think, and was relieved to hear her footsteps follow behind him.

They had been wandering for quite a while and it was starting to feel like an attempt at exercise. “i need to sit. i swear, between you and my brother i’m going to end up getting in shape just to keep up.”

Daya sighed, although he couldn’t place if it was because he was stopping or due to mentioning his brother. Right now though he could care less, he just needed to stop moving. “Okay, we can sit here. It’s a good place to just sit and watch.” That smile was back, but it seemed forced. He would know, he was a master at it. “So have you picked out a favorite animal yet?”

“nah, don’t think i’m much of an animal lover. they’re nice to look at i suppose, but i’m good with leaving it at that.”

“What?! How can you not love animals? They’re so amazing!”

He shrugged. This seemed like a losing battle so why fight it. “so why do you like elephants so much? what’s so special about them?” 

“They’re just so big and smart. I don’t really know how to explain it; I’m just left in awe when I see them. I wish I could show you, you’ve never seen anything so big!”

He chuckled, “you think all monsters are human-sized?”

She turned to look at him like she was preparing for him to shatter yet another idea she’d thought she’d had a clear grasp on.

“you ever seen a monster child?” he asked almost casually.

“N..no I don’t think so,” she looked down at her hands. “Are they rare?”

“eh, kinda. anyways, when monsters are too young to defend themselves their parents dress them in horizontal stripes. can be anything, so long as a single stripe is obvious. it’s how other monsters can tell who the young ones are and that they’re off limits. the reason we have to do that is because monsters come in all sizes. you can have some that as adults only come up to my knees, while others might be as big as your car but still a child.”

“Wow, I guess I never realized. All the monsters I’ve seen have seemed such normal sizes. How big can monsters get?”

“biggest i ever seen was the size of a house. they were aquatic though, didn’t have many options for places to live, and they’d probably never come to the surface. i’d say less than one percent of monsters are on the surface even now. your government wasn’t too keen on us joining society so they allowed a trial group. clearly we’re thriving.” He scoffed.

“Hey buddy,” a voice called from behind. Sans didn’t have to turn, he could tell it belonged to the same schmuck from earlier. “the lion feeding is further up the path, how are they suppose to throw the cats a bone if you’re sitting here?” The laughter that followed was enough to tell him that he was outnumbered, at least four young males.

“Listen you punks!” Daya was already up and walking to the group. Sans cursed under his breath before going after her. This human was going to get herself killed at this rate. “Just because someone looks or seems different doesn’t make it okay to treat them so terrible!”

The laughing subsided. “Oh yea? What are you going to do? Sic your monster pet on us? You know they don’t allow pets at the zoo, especially ones off leash.” The other three howled with renewed vigor at the jab.

Her face took on a darker shade and he could feel the anger rolling off her soul. “leave her alone. she’s just a human like you, she’s done nothing wrong.”

“Wrong freak, she’s a monster sympathizer and that makes her worse than a monster. See, she had a choice: side with her own kind or side with the garbage that spewed out from under Mt. Ebott. Clearly she chose wrong.” One of the teens stepped forward and shoved Sans back. Daya barely caught him from hitting the ground.

“You boys better...!”

“can it.” Sans snapped at her. This wasn’t a battle he could win, and even if he could the fact they were in public would be devastating to monsterkind. Monsters couldn’t just beat up on humans. “let’s go.” He could see her deflate, clearly defeated if she was going to be left with no ally.

“That’s right _underling_ , run away. Run back to your hole and hide!”

He didn’t give her a chance to argue. As soon as they turned the corner his hand was on her shoulder and they were taking a shortcut back to her car. “get us out of here.”


	21. Before it Gets Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Daya thinks she can get Sans to chill out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, surprise? Turns out I'm not dead :D

Daya hadn’t tempted fate by pushing her monster companion for an explanation. They had driven home in silence. She originally had been fuming, gripping the wheel white-knuckled. Not only had the way those boys treated Sans been disgusting, but Sans had practically resigned himself to the cruelty like it was commonplace. That had her worried... was it commonplace?

There wasn’t a word exchanged between the two of them even after they’d entered the apartment. Sans had thrown himself at the couch and buried his skull into the cushions, turning his back to the rest of the world. He’d fallen asleep even though it had been early evening; she wasn’t keen on waking him.

Morning had come and gone. Daya went to her morning work shift alone, leaving the sleeping skeleton to his dreams. She couldn’t understand how someone could sleep so much but perhaps that’s just how he was, although she couldn’t recall him ever falling asleep at the shop. He’d been awake when she returned; thank goodness. She wasn’t sure what she’d say to him if she had to wake him up, it wasn’t like he needed to be anywhere she supposed.

Her after-work shower was exactly what she needed to relieve some of the stress in her shoulders. Work hadn’t been bad. There was the usual number of customers, human and monster. But one of Mark’s friends had been hanging around and they made her uncomfortable. He and his group always seemed to bring trouble, and their targeted hatred toward monsters was revolting.

Daya emerged from the bathroom in her lounging clothes, a pair of sweatpants and an old baggy high school shirt. She walked behind the couch as she teased the dampness from her hair with a hand towel. But before she could sit down a foreign ringtone caught her attention. She looked down at Sans’ hip in confusion, “I’ve never heard your phone make that sound before.”

The monster was still ignoring her, a determined look taking over his features as he dug out his phone and swiped open the text message. Curiosity took over and she couldn’t help but peek down at his phone.

_Boss: Report_

He sucked in a sharp breath, "holy fuck, it’s my bro...” Sans was frozen in a vaguely neutral expression, almost guarded.

Her face twisted in mild disgust and she scoffed, “What could he possibly want after booting you to the streets?” He brushed off her question as his thumbs went to work tapping on the screen.

“You’re not actually going to dignify his actions with a response, are you?” Already knowing the answer to her question as she glanced again to see his message.

_abandoned post. sleeping on the human’s couch._

“why wouldn’t i? he only asked me to report my status, not like he’s asking me to move mountains... which would have been a really useful skill now that i think about it,” he gave a half-hearted laugh.

“Report your status? This isn’t the military, he’s your brother, he’s family! It’s been days since he kicked you out and he’s just now wondering where you are!? How can you so easily forgive him for that?” She had been trying so hard to bottle it all up, keep it all in. But this had been her tipping point. She was so angry for him, for all the monsters that ceded to defeat. How dare they be treated that way! But it upset her, even more, to see the results before her. A monster who had been beaten down to the point that he’d roll over and give up rather than contemplate defending himself.

Daya didn't pause to wait for an answer, “It's like he doesn't even care! How can he not be worried? Something could have happened to you! Clearly he's not a very good brother...”

“shut up!” He leaped from the couch and whirled to face her. The red ring had manifested in his left eye socket while the right was left completely dark. She suddenly found herself holding her breath. “you keep saying you want to learn but all you humans are the same! expecting us to conform to your standards! papyrus means the world to me! and if he needs space, i'll give it to him. if he wants to know where i am, i'll tell him. because at the end of the day, no matter what, he's my baby bro and i would do anything for him!”

Her head hung, thoroughly chastised. “But would he do the same for you?” Voice soft as a whisper, she wasn't sure the monster heard her until she looked up to see both white eye lights had returned and were studying her.

Sans wasn't given time to answer, both were interrupted by a knock at the door. A fearful look crossed his features, “were you expecting someone?”

Cautiously moving from behind the couch toward the peephole, she shook her head. As quickly as the fear had manifested, it was swept away by pure excitement. She flung the door open earning a startled yelp from the skeleton. “Papa-ji!”

Standing before them, looking stoic as ever, was Samir.

“I heard a rumor my Daya had extended her compassion to a certain short-tempered monster, so I wanted to see for myself. I must say, I hope the yelling I heard was not from this apartment.”

“We were just very enthusiastic in our discussion papa, that's all.” She closed the door as her father stepped inside and surveyed the apartment.

“You have been providing adequate accommodations for your guest?”

“Of course papa, you taught me how to be a good host. Please come in, sit down. Would you like anything to drink?” She could feel herself buzzing with energy. Her father rarely had time away from work; much less spend his free time visiting her.

"If you have some, what do they call it, that drink like the shikanjvi your mother would make?” She could see Sans fidgeting out of the corner of her eye before nodding to her father.

“The lemonade, of course! Give me just a moment.” Scurrying to the kitchen she could feel a mischievous grin forming. It wasn’t that she wanted Sans to be uncomfortable, but she’d be lying if it wasn’t a bit karmadic to see him squirming after their tiff.

After collecting the simple pre-made packet and a pitcher, she spent a few extra minutes mixing the drinks. Why hurry? Maybe it would do Sans some good to see how family was supposed to behave.

Returning from the kitchen with a trio of glasses and a grin plastered on her face, she found her father had settled in the center of the couch while Sans was attempting to disappear into the armrest. The skeleton was trying to prop his head in his hand, but he was shoved so far back into the couch there was no way he was comfortable.

All the while her father wasn’t giving him so much as a passing glance, making various comments about this and that whether Sans was listening or not. Her father was always so self-assured; Daya wished she could have that kind of confidence.

She handed Samir his drink before placing one on the coffee table near Sans. Reading his body language, she could already tell he wasn’t going to be accepting it or even moving if he didn’t have to. Taking a sip from her glass, she relaxed into the couch at a slight angle to better see her father.

“Papa, I know you said you came to see how things were, but you’re a really busy man. How did you find the time to come out here?”

The corners of his mouth dropped just a fraction, “It was actually quite strange. A pair of dog monsters I’ve never seen before came into the shop asking about any unusual activity. They also requested to see any video footage I had. I accommodated them as best I could and it probably would have been a rather funny encounter because of the way they were speaking, but their tone was nothing to laugh at. They suggested I ‘watch my back.’ I could not tell if it was a threat or a warning, but I was not taking any risks. I sent everyone home and closed the shop for the day.”

She noticed Sans had leaned forward in interest as her father spoke. But it was her father’s body posture that had her concerned. To anyone else it may not seem like anything, but she could tell there was a droop in his shoulders.

Taking a sip from his drink, he continued, “I hate sending them home. I know how much everyone needs hours for a full paycheck, but I could not risk anyone’s safety. I did not know what else to do.”

“I’m sure that was the smartest option papa. Everything will be fine, and all will go back to normal tomorrow.” She did her best to give Samir a supportive smile. He was always the one who pushed her to do well in life, and it pained her to see him looking even the least bit defeated.

His expression instantly brightened and he placed a hand on her shoulder, “Of course my Daya.” With that, he set his glass on the table and stood up. “I will be going though. I am glad to see the both of you are doing well. I expect to reopen the shop tomorrow, and I trust you will be present for your shift.”

Daya followed his motions and set her own glass down to walk him to the door. “I would never let you down. Please be safe getting home.”

With a click the door had been shut and locked and Daya turned back to her monster resident.

“well that was a blast.”

An exasperated sigh slipped through her teeth, “At least it was a pleasant encounter with my family.”

“different situation, different circumstances. besides, you don’t know, maybe how you were greeted at my place is a compliment in monster culture.” His mischievous grin had returned, and if she had to be honest she had missed it.

“I’ll give you the first part, but not the second. I know for a fact that was not a positive encounter.” Crossing her arms she dared him to try and convince her otherwise.

All she got was a wave of his bony hand. “yeah yeah. what i’m more interested in right now is what we’re having for dinner. i’m starving here and pretty soon i’ll just be a bag of bones.”

“Ha-ha Sans. I assume this means we’re on speaking terms again? Otherwise, I think I may only have enough ingredients to make dinner for one.”

He sighed and closed his eye sockets for just a moment. “sure, whatever you want dollface.”

With a triumphant smile and a bounce in her step, she made her way back to the kitchen. “Good, because in a battle of resolve I will always win.”

She could only hear him scoff in response, but it was half-hearted and she was pretty sure touched with amusement. It felt good to have things back to normal again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who read this far, you give me life. Seriously. It's been a rough couple of months and all I could think about was how guilty I felt that I couldn't get this story updated. So for those of you who've been here since the beginning, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Those of you who only recently arrived, thank you for keeping me motivated. And finally to the guest who left me kudos on July 4th, thank you! You're the one who finally got me to finish this chapter <3
> 
> Obviously, updates will be sporadic, but the good news is that the story already has its ending written. I just need to figure out how I'm getting there XD


	22. It Will Get Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some surprising news is discovered.

A clock was ticking somewhere across the room, the steady back and forth like a metronome. He could swear it was getting slower as he had been focusing on it, it had to be a few hours now; just monitoring as time moved forward. Lying on his back with arms draped over his middle he could only stare at the ceiling, listening. It was so quiet. Quiet usually meant danger, and he was always acutely aware of possible danger. The predator was careful not to make a sound; prey would hold its breath. Humans called it the calm before the storm. He hadn’t been on the surface long enough to experience what storm they referred to, but it felt right. Often when monsters sought out and destroyed one another it was silent before it was deafingly loud.

He had experienced peace without repercussions since sleeping on Daya’s couch. So what was causing him anxiety now? What made this silence so different?

Chancing a glance at the time he pulled his phone out and peeked. After the initial shock of blinding light he saw it was four in the morning. He hadn’t slept at all, and now Daya would be up and moving around in a little over two hours. Groaning he pocketed the device and welcomed the dark expanse that swallowed him up once more.

It had to be his thoughts keeping him awake. Bouncing in his skull like a ball, buzzing around and just as annoying as an insect. Did Papyrus care? He had to be worried. Sans always worried for his brother, and Papyrus used to fret over Sans constantly. As a babybones he would constantly scold Sans when he would return home with some sort of injury, often insisting on bandaging it himself. What happened? Even after he joined the guard and toned down any kind of physical or verbal affection, there were still the silent glances. Those looks of pure trust; confirmation that their alliance was as strong as it ever was. He hadn’t seen that look in so long, since coming to the surface perhaps?

It made sense. Papyrus had finally found his place; he was part of the first group of monsters making a home for their species on the surface. Underground Sans still had a purpose, contributing to the family funds; Papyrus still had a use for him. Here? He really was useless wasn’t he?

He felt a growl rumble through his chest as he closed his sockets, a feeble attempt in willing the thoughts away. Perhaps a distraction was needed. Swinging his legs down he situated into a comfortably slouched sitting position. Feeling around and finding the remote, he flicked on the television, ensuring to quickly mute it as soon as it clicked on. Settling on a news station he found his eye lights skimming over the ticker at the bottom. It didn’t take long for his sockets to begin drooping again. Resting his chin on his sternum he let the smallest hint of sleep sneak in.

The sounds of stirring jolted him awake. Sun was filtering through the slatted blinds signaling that Sans had gotten at least the tiniest hint of sleep. He rolled his head hoping to stretch out his aching neck, the way he had fallen asleep was less than comfortable. 

“This looks exciting,” the sarcasm was clearly present in her statement. “I used to watch that shopping network to fall asleep.”

Grin in place, Sans turned to the human currently resting her face in her hands and her elbows on the back of the couch. “i’ll keep that in mind next time insomnia hits me, sweetheart.”

Daya’s cheerful energy waivered slightly, “Am I safe in assuming you’ll be staying here while I work?” She wouldn’t admit it to him, but she liked his company at the shop. Even when he did nothing it was like his presence bolstered her confidence, especially when dealing with short-tempered monsters.

He lowered his eye lights, “actually, i was kinda thinking of tagging along.”

“Really?!” Jerking her head up in surprise, she noticed his hands were fidgeting like they always seemed to when he was nervous.

Taking a deep breath, he sighed and rubbed the back of his skull. “yea, i’ve been thinking ‘bout what your pops said, and i’m pretty sure the dogs that stopped by the shop were guards. if that’s true then somethin’s going on and i want to know what.” Sans was always sticking his metaphorical nose where it didn’t belong, but knowledge was power and it was how he had survived this long. Brushing aside the fact he also wanted to keep an eye on this human, there was no reason for him NOT to go to the shop today.

“Awesome! Let me grab a bite and we can head out.” She headed for the kitchen before pausing and turning back to him, “you hungry?”

“naw, i’m good dollface.” 

“Suit yourself,” Daya shrugged and disappeared around the corner. Sans pulled out his phone and flicked his thumb over it to unlock it. Of course there were no new messages, why had he been hoping there would be?

Glancing up he noticed a human standing in front of a familiar fence on the TV. Eye sockets going wide, he scrambled for the remote and quickly unmuted it.

Daya reappeared with a granola bar in hand and confusion settled on her face. “What’s going on?”

A bony hand came up in request for silence. The television was still settled on the news with the anchor elaborating on some event, but she couldn’t recognize the area they were filming.

_“Security had reported a missing person by curfew but police stated a non-interference policy. The monster guard were allowed to continue their search outside the perimeter early this morning. The remains in question were found shortly thereafter.”_

As if it was just a simple traffic report or comment about the weather, the casters quickly changed over to a new story

Daya stared in dumb shock before lowering herself onto the empty section of the couch. “Sans... are they talking about...”

“yeah. someone killed a monster outside of the neighborhood.” Hearing the scraping of bone her gaze shifted to the skeleton. His face was in his hands rubbing briskly like he was trying to wake up first thing in the morning. He froze, “boss knew... that’s what the message was about. he was worried... he was making sure it wasn’t my dust they were looking for.”

“Oh my god, I am so sorry.” Her hands came up to cover her gaping mouth, she could only feel empathetic pain as she continued to stare. “Should... should we get you back to the neighborhood?”

“naw,” his answer was gruff, but he quickly composed himself. “you gotta get to work and now i really wanna keep an eye socket on you. if someone is willing to kill a monster who knows what they’d be willing to do to a monster sympathizing human like you.”

A hint of a smile graced her features, “that’s very nice of you, but you don’t need to do that. I can take care of myself.”

“i don’t doubt that, but what if i said it would make me feel better?” His voice was meek but never waivered.

She let out a small huff of a chuckle, “alright Sans. If that will make you feel better then let’s get going, I don’t want to be late for work.”

The wide grin and carefree demeanor returned as he got up and followed Daya out the door. Sans took one last look around before closing the door. He had a feeling he wouldn’t be back for quite awhile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! This work isn't dead :D I don't have a gameplan for how often it will be updated, but my hope is that it will be less than ten more chapters to finish it... and it WILL be finished!
> 
> Welcome back lovely people who have stuck by me, and for anyone just joining this year, I'm glad to have you ^_^
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment, they really do motivate me. Even a simple thumbs up can influence an author to update ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Theme songs I associate with this story:  
> Twenty-One Pilots - Heathens  
> Set It Off - Wild Wild World  
> Twenty-One Pilots - Hometown  
> (I sometimes listen to these on a loop when I'm having trouble writing)


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